Alexander's Reign
by Lady Shadow Walker
Summary: Normally, when the epitome of evil has big plans for you, you should run away screaming in the other direction, but Alec might just like these plans. Besides, who said the most evil creature in the universe hadn't been redeemed?
1. Dream a Little Dream of Me

_**A/N: Hello! This is a story idea that I got that I've never seen before, so I wrote it. For any wondering, this is the only chapter with flashbacks. I appreciate all reviews and constructive criticism.**_

 _ **Chapter Song: Superheroes (The Script)**_

 _ ***Edit made 1/17/16**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable content. If I did, I would be traveling constantly, not writing.**_

 **~Dream a Little Dream of Me~**

 _"Father . . ." a raspy voice murmured. A harsh cough sounded, sulfur swirling up as the man shifted. It was difficult to see him, since he was covered in soot and hunched over on the floor. The only light glinting off him was the harsh orange light of molten rock and the blue-tinted moonlight._

 _While the man might seem somewhat normal, if not incredibly filthy, one feature stood out, so visibly out of place that it was impossible to not notice. Protruding from the man's back were two large, curved wings._

 _Rather than be a beautiful sight, however, they were grotesque; there were few feathers, and the only feathers left were stained by soot and blood, sticking out at odd angles; the exposed flesh of the wings were mangled and burned, held at odd angles, almost as if they were broken._

 _His wings stirred uselessly as he leaned forward, a pained and sorrowed look covering his face. "Father," he began again, voice croaky. "I can't do this anymore." He shook his head, eyes closing as a tear slipped out. "I know I don't even deserve to speak to you, but please let me do something – anything – to repent. Please, Father, let me earn forgiveness."_

 _There was nothing but silence, and the man's head drooped. He knew the chances of redemption or even a chance were slim to none, but he had hoped that he might at least get to try. He pressed his head into his hands and let out a shaky breath._

 _He didn't move for a long moment. Then, the darkness shrouding him was suddenly illuminated with blinding light, and tranquil energy thrummed through the air. He raised his head, watery eyes wide with hope, towards the source of the light._

 _"I am here, my son."_

. . .

Maryse and Robert Lightwood were peacefully sleeping in their beds when a horrifying scream of pure terror echoed through the institute. They were both awake in an instant and running towards Alec's room, recognizing the young voice. They slammed open the door, glowing seraph blades in hand, and stopped short.

Their four year old son's chest was jutted into the air in an unnatural position, and his tiny hands clawed into his covers, his face screwed up in horror. The parents exchanged a wide-eyed look and they searched the room for anything that could be causing his reaction. They found nothing.

Suddenly, he snapped up into a sitting position, fear obvious on his face. When Maryse and Robert thought back on it, they imagined that the eerie blue glow in his eyes was a reflection from their seraph blades and nothing more.

. . .

 _Almost as soon as the reverberating voice claimed to be there, it retreated, taking the breathtaking light with it. The winged man was confused and felt a ball of hurt curl unpleasantly in his chest. He closed his eyes and pressed his face into his knees. There was no forgiveness for him. Not now, not ever._

 _The thick silence was suddenly cut through with thousands of indignant shrieks and snarls. He looked around, wondering if any of the demons realized who had just visited. Before he had much though on the subject, it became silent again, and a flash of light from above caught his attention._

 _He looked up, face lit up in blue from the moon's reflection on ice. His breath caught when he saw what looked almost like a falling star headed straight in his direction. A look of wonder overtook his face and he felt a curl of hope rise._

 _The falling star finally took shape, revealing another winged figure quickly darting down, light encompassing his body. The glowing man darted to him and wrapped flawless wings around his soot-ridden body, shooting into the sky with_ _a_ _speed that no human would be able to comprehend._

 _The second he broke the barrier of his prison, he was hit by freezing air and his eyes burned at the blue-tinted light. His breath was puffing out in clouds and he got the briefest glimpse of an endless expanse of ice and snow before the winged man looked at him, a sad smile on his face and an unreadable look in his eyes._

 _"Michael," he choked out, feeling the first spark of life in eons as he tried to drink in the familiar figure._

 _"Brother," Michael agreed, a conflicted look on his face. "Father has requested an audience with you."_

 _. . ._

Alec wrapped his tiny arms around his legs, eyes darting to his bedroom door, wondering if anyone would be coming to check on him. Had we woken someone up again? He wasn't sure.

When fifteen minutes had passed in silence, he licked his lips. His eyes widened when he tasted blood. He must have bitten through his lip again to keep from making noise.

He ran a hand over his face tiredly, knowing that trying to sleep now would be futile. He could never sleep after one of his dreams. He glanced at the clock and made a disgruntled noise when he realized it was only thirty minutes past midnight.

His head fell back, and he stared at the ceiling, mulling over his unusual dreams. He wondered if the Michael he had seen was Michael the Archangel. He shook his head, too tired to think about it. "Happy seventh birthday to me."

. . .

 _He was flown directly to his father by Michael. As soon as they touched down on the blindingly bright floor, he was released. Unable to currently stand on his weak legs, he fell forward. He raised his head up, looking at first the pristine stairs, then the massive throne, and finally to the warm figure sitting there._

 _He felt like a fledgling again, and his eyes were wide in awe at being in his_ _father's_ _presence after so long without. He swallowed, tasting the bitter tar from years of breathing in ash, smoke, and sulfur. "Father," he breathed._

 _God rose from his throne and quickly descended the stairs, sinking to the ground beside his filthy son. His smile was warm as he wrapped his arms around sooty shoulders. "Lucifer."_

. . .

"Alec!" an urgent voice said, shaking his shoulder.

He sat up with a strangled gasp, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. His fingers curled into the handle of the knife under his pillow, using the weapon to calm himself.

"Are you okay, Alec?" the same voice asked in concern.

His wild gaze flew to his sister who was holding a witchlight, a concerned look on her seven year old face. He blinked at her and glanced at his clock. "Yeah. Did I wake you up again?"

Isabelle bit her lip hesitantly but nodded. "Alec . . . you said something when I first came in here."

His breath caught, heart in his throat. "What did I say?"

She was slow to answer, glancing away so she couldn't see his expression. "You said ' _Lucifer_ '."

. . .

 _His father helped him to his feet and turned to Michael who was watching with a wistful look. "Summon Gabriel, Raphael, and Raziel immediately, please."_

 _Michael bowed his head. "Of course, Father."_

 _In the next second, Lucifer was alone with his father who still had a supportive grip on him. He was grateful, as he would probably collapse again without the help. His eyes closed for a second in contentment as gentle hands threaded into his ruined wings._

 _There was a remorseful sigh. "I honestly don't know what to do with you, my son."_

 _Lucifer looked away from the intense gaze, shame filling him. "I'm sorry, Father."_

 _"I know you are. But sometimes sorry isn't enough."_

. . .

It was during a dinner after Alec had hit double digits when Robert cleared his throat. The Lightwood siblings looked towards him in curiosity.

"I have some news," he announced. "In a few days, we're going to be taking in a young shadowhunter boy."

"What?!" the siblings demanded as one, but they both had very different tones. Isabelle seemed excited, but Alec was more than a little wary.

Maryse nodded. "His name is Jace Wayland and he's your father's godson. His father just passed and he'll be living with us from now on. We need to make him as welcome as possible here. He'll be staying in the empty room closest to yours."

Isabelle had a bright beam on her face and she spent the rest of dinner eagerly asking about her new "brother". Alec listened, but barely said anything. He had a bad feeling about the way his parents kept glancing at him.

After dinner, Isabelle all but bounced out of the room, and Alec's suspicious feeling was proven correct. He had started to follow her, but Robert's voice stopped him mid-step.

"Alec . . ." he started.

"Yes?" he asked, warily looking back.

"I . . ." he shook his head, seeming to change his mind about what to say. "When Jace is here, try to keep your . . . issues to yourself. Jace has been through a lot and I don't need you adding stress, alright?"

Alec felt like he'd been hit in the stomach, speechless as he stared at his father in silent horror. Sure, his parents had always been freaked out by his dreams, but they had never actually said anything like this before.

He turned away, trying to force away tears. He had a bitter taste in his mouth. "Of course, Father. I'd hate to be a _burden_."

He left the room, his acid words apparently shocking his parents enough that it took nearly ten seconds before they started calling after him.

He didn't look back.

. . .

 _Lucifer knew that Michael was back when he heard the rustling of feathers and three shocked inhales. Lucifer took a moment to steel himself, not wanting to see the looks on their faces at his condition._

 _"You requested our presence?" a shaky voice asked._

 _The warm fingers on his wings moved away as God turned to face his other children. "I did."_

 _Lucifer slowly turned, his movements stiff and without an ounce of the grace_ _fulness_ _he was once known by. His wings were held closely to his body and his_ _dim_ _eyes rose to look at his brothers. The three angels were looking over his tattered form with abject horror._

 _Suddenly one of the angels stumbled towards him, bronze tinted wings fluttering in disbelief. Confused golden eyes met his, and suddenly the angel launched himself at him, hands clench_ _ing_ _into his shirt. "I thought I_ _'_ _d never see you again."_

 _Lucifer's arms slowly wrapped his arms around the younger angel,_ _tears welling in his eyes as a soft, disbelieving smile appeared on his face. "I thought so, too, Gabriel."_

 _Suddenly another set of hands were in his wings. He stiffened at first, but he relaxed when he heard a familiar concerned voice mumbling about the state of his wings. "Let him go, Gabriel, before you hurt him."_

 _Gabriel quickly let him go, but the bronze wings reached out yearningly towards him, a mystified look on his face as he observed the brother he hadn't seen in eons._

 _Lucifer was slowly turned around and met dark eyes, and he was given a concerned once over. The dark eyes shot to their father. "May I heal him?"_

 _"Of course, Raphael."_

 _When the other angel's grace reached out to heal him, Lucifer was swarmed in a tsunami of emotion: grief, happiness, and crippling relief. He cried. He'd thought that he'd never feel this again, and he feared it would be snatched from him or that it was all a cruel dream._

. . .

When Alec woke up, he had tears falling down his face and his nose was running. He irritably wiped at his face as he made his way to the kitchen, needing something to drink for his dry throat.

He was expecting the kitchen to be empty like it always was at that time of night, but he hadn't factored in their new family member. He was half-way to the refrigerator when he felt eyes on him and a familiar voice spoke.

"Have you been crying?"

Alec jumped with a horrified look on his face. He scrambled back to his room, fleeing the kitchen before he could even assess the expression on the other boy's face. Suddenly, getting something for his parched throat wasn't appealing. Less than a week of Jace living there, and he already knew something wasn't normal about him.

"Idiot," he mumbled to himself, face in his hands. Why did he let the other boy see him in the middle of a torrent of emotions from his dreams? It was about ten minutes later when his door opened with a slight creak. He didn't look up, assuming Isabelle had woken up again. He _did_ looked up when someone who definitely weighed more than Isabelle sat on his bed beside him.

A warm cup was pushed into his hands as he looked up, meeting understanding golden eyes. Jace had a light smile on his lips, and he shrugged, gesturing to the cup. "It's hot chocolate. It always makes me feel better."

Alec stared uncomprehendingly at the blond, wondering what was happening. The only other person to look at Alec without judgment was Isabelle and perhaps Max.

Alec smiled back and took a sip of the hot chocolate, thinking that maybe, just maybe, things would get better.

. . .

 _"_ _We can't delay this conversation any longer, Lucifer."_

 _Lucifer nodded, head bowed, already bracing himself for Heaven to be ripped away from him again. Warm fingers guided his chin up, and his mournful eyes met the infinite ones of God._

 _"I cannot let you rejoin the host just because you are remorseful for your wrongdoings."_

 _Lucifer flinched, looking down. Even though he'd prepared himself for this, it still hurt and caused a sharp pain in his chest._

 _"Now, now, son, don't jump to conclusions." A sigh sounded. "_ _You have done unthinkable things since you_ _r_ _rebellion._ _You corrupted your brothers and sisters, as well as the humans. You created demons, and set the world on a new irreversible path that had unseen consequences."_

 _With every new offense listed, Lucifer felt another_ _surge_ _of shame, and he swallowed the ball rising in his throat. "I know, Father. I was misguided. I only saw the negative impacts of humans, and you wanted us to love_ them _more than you, but I c_ _ouldn't_ _." He quickly backtracked. "I see the flaws in my actions, Father. I was blinded in jealousy, rage, and arrogance. I should have listened to you."_

 _God nodded. "I know, my son, but it is much too late for your actions to be changed."_ _His eyes seemed to almost twinkle. "You can, however, start to remedy some of the consequences."_

 _Lucifer's eyes_ _desperately_ _searched every inch of his_ _father's_ _face, and what he found there caused his_ _ragged_ _wings to go limp in relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Father."_

 _"Don't get too happy now, Lucifer. You have a long road ahead of you. It will not be easy, let me assure you."_

 _When Lucifer looked at his father, his eyes were burning with the fierce fire of determination. It was an expression of incredibly strong, earnest dedication that no one had seen since his rebellion. He wouldn't mess up this time. He refused to._

 _"_ _I_ _t doesn't matter. I will fix this, Father, if it's the last thing I do."_

. . .

Isabelle and Jace immediately stepped in front of him when their parents made their suggestion. Going by the fact that there was a Silent Brother standing behind them, though, there wasn't an actual choice.

"No," Isabelle snarled, fingers wrapping around her whip as she took a defensive position with Jace. "There is nothing wrong with him."

"My parabatai's brain is _not_ getting prodded by them. End of discussion," Jace coldly stated, and his eyes were fierce molten gold, nearly sparking from his fury. He was visibly bristling and his hand was wrapped around the handle of his sword, fingers flexing like he was thinking about the hundred ways he could skewer Alec's enemies.

Alec felt a jolt of fear as the Silent Brother started to glide forward, undoubtfully planning to force his siblings to let him through. He took a shaky breath and put a hand on both his siblings to get their attention. When they looked at him, he shook his head and gave a weak smile. "Don't fight them. They can examine me."

"But –"

"Don't argue."

He followed the Silent Brother with his head held high, attempting to draw on the determination and strength he'd seen Lucifer exercise. He had to be strong for his siblings. He had to protect them. Nothing was more important – not even his own safety.

. . .

 _When Lucifer flew back into the Throne Room, his breath was coming out in harsh puffs and his wings were stiff and aching from use. Back in his prime, the flight he just made would be as effortless as a human yawning, but now it pushed his injured wings to their max._

 _"Lucifer," God easily greeted. "How was your trip?"_

 _Lucifer tried to slow his breathing and he stretched out his wings as he sat on the stairs. His shook his head. "It was . . . troubling. The humans are disgusting. Most don't believe in you and of those who do, a majority fight and harm others in you name."_

 _He made a disgusted noise. "These so-called 'Crusades' are a joke. The only thing those people care for is the money required for foreign goods, since their flimsy paper and diluted metals are_ so _important."_

 _Lucifer leapt to his feet, wings bristling in agitation as he recalled what he'd seen on his trip. "They are selfish, conceited, and arrogant. They ignore others suffering, but when they are in need, they expect help immediately."_

 _He ran a hand through his hair, a disconcerted look on his face. "And the demons I created . . ." He shook his head. "A large portion of them are monstrous_ leeches _with no cause but to cause suffering. I don't know why I ever thought they were a good idea."_

 _He finally turned to face his father's expectant expression. "I messed up more than I initially thought," he admitted._

 _God smiled. "It_ _'_ _s good that you still see that, my son. When you next venture to earth, I want you to look for the good."_

 _Lucifer nodded in agreement, saying nothing about his serious doubts about how possible that was. He gave himself a second to steel himself, then swooped back down to the earth, wings already straining. His resolve to fix his mistakes was still unbending and resolute._

 _. . ._

When the Silent Brother was giving a report to his parents, Alec fled the room as quickly as he could. He was stumbling slightly, and he felt vicious shudders still going through his body.

When he shakily opened his door and entered, he heard two worried voices, and suddenly his siblings were there. Isabelle and Jace grabbed his arms and tugged him towards his bed, and he heard Max close the door behind him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Isabelle asked, seeming somewhat calm, but he could hear the fury she trying to force down.

He shook his head, trying to force his body to stop shaking, but the only thing that happened was his stomach lurching. In the next second, he was on his feet, scrambling towards his bathroom to dry heave. He hadn't had any real food in the few days he'd been in the Silent City, so there was nothing to throw up.

When he was able to pay attention to his surroundings again, he realized that Isabelle was trying to distract Max in his bedroom, and Jace was sitting beside him, keeping a hand on his shoulder like he was getting ready for Alec to pass out.

"What happened, Alec?" Jace quietly asked. His eyes were once again burning with hot-coal rage. His voice was still soft and soothing, though, when he continued, "We can't help if we don't know what we're dealing with."

Alec knew that, but a part of him just wanted to shelter the others from his troubles. It was bad enough that Jace and Isabelle already knew about his dreams. He leaned against the bathroom wall, and he noticed that Isabelle was standing in the doorway, and Max was nowhere to be seen.

He took a deep breath, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Jace and Isabelle's intense stares. He swallowed. "When they took me to the Silent City, I was expecting them to try to riffle through my memories. They did, but . . ." He shook his head. "They didn't act like they normally do."

He took a second to compose himself. "They didn't take me to the normal place. They took me to this weird side room and these Silent Brothers that I've never seen before came in. They didn't give me any warning before they ripped into my head."

He tried to ignore the look Isabelle and Jace exchanged. Isabelle's fingers were playing with her whip like they always did when she had a bad feeling or was nervous. "Then what?"

He shook his head, a humorless laugh escaping. "They couldn't find _anything_ about my dreams. Apparently, they couldn't even find anything about me telling you two about them." He looked away from them, focusing on his shaky arm. "So they tried to force the memories out."

Jace grabbed his arm and looked frantic. "Alec, what do you mean?"

"Imagine someone trying to batter into your brain with a sledgehammer, and messing with your nervous system. That's about what it felt like it. It felt violating and it _hurt_."

Jace was on his feet in the next second, ready to run out, presumably to go storm the Silent City. Isabelle looked like she was considering helping him. "No, don't worry about it," Alec quickly said. "I think they're going to pretend I was imaging it; there's no point in getting in trouble. I'll be fine. Everyone will probably just think I've lost my mind, but I can deal with that."

They both looked like they were considering ignoring him, but finally Isabelle sighed. "Okay, but we'll always believe you. Right, Jace?"

Jace grinned. "Of course. We're unstoppable together. No one messes with this family."

Alec gave a slightly pained laugh, and wondered why it hurt to have Jace think of him as a brother.

. . .

 _Unlike the last time Lucifer had flown into the Throne Room, he wasn't angry. This time he was incredibly confused and more than a little sad, but there was also a small spark of hope._

 _God had a knowing smile on his face. "What did you learn on this trip?"_

 _Lucifer rocked slightly on his heels, an almost human gesture, and frowned, trying to figure out to put his observations and emotions into words._

 _"I still think humans are flawed," he said. "But they are so_ contradictory _. One second they kill, and the next they're sacrificing everything for someone."_

 _"They will kill for their loved ones, let all of their hate and worries melt away when they see children, and hide their own doubts to reassure those around them." He shook his head, mystified. "I watched an old woman give away her last food to a small starving child. I saw a man that had been nothing but rude to everyone he knew willingly give up his own life to protect those around him."_

 _He trailed off, feeling lost. "I don't know how to fix the evil I put in the world, but I want to help the goodness I saw."_

 _God rose from his throne and placed his hands on Lucifer's shoulders, causing the fallen angel to look up at him in a silent plea for guidance. "Some of the things that seemed so wrong to you do not need to be changed. When I gifted humans with free will, I knew there would be those that abused it. It is the choice they're burdened with."_

 _God had a light smile on his face, and he moved his hands away from his shoulders. "Look at your wings, my son."_

 _Lucifer felt confused, but did as asked. He craned his head to the side, stretching his wings out to get a better view. For a moment he saw nothing new. His wings were still ripped, bloody, and charred. They were covered in dark soot and still smelt rotten like sulfur. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing, but then he saw it._

 _His breath stuttered to a halt, and he wondered if he was hallucinating. He had few feathers, and those that he did have were ripped and bent at odd angles. Yet, sitting innocently on his left wing was a single untarnished, glowing feather. A bright speck of bright white in a sea of filth and blood._

 _He stared at it in fascination and awe, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. The white feather was the same color as his wings had been before his fall. Once upon a time, his wings glowed with white light, his skin was flawless like all angels, and his eyes were always lively._

 _But now, the Morning Star was a shadow of what he once was. His wings were destroyed, his skin looked sickly and scarred, and his eyes were dull. He couldn't remove his eyes from his feather. "Why has it grown back?"_

 _God smiled. "Your grace is repairing itself. I don't know how long it will take – that is entirely dependent on you. The more pure your thoughts and actions are, and the more you atone for your mistakes, the more it should repair. In time, you will be ready to rejoin your brothers and sisters with the same grace as before your fall."_

 _Lucifer felt light headed, and a bright smile crept onto his face._

 _His father smiled back. "Now go observe the demons you created. See if you can find anything redeemable."_

 _Lucifer swallowed, remembering the tortuous pit he'd been in so long. He'd never ventured out of that part of Hell, preferring to sulk in his misery and give demons permission to do whatever they wanted with humans. The demons cackling as they regaled him with stories of their exploits shook him almost as the memories of his own cold laughter in response._

 _He took a shaky breath and nodded._

 _. . ._

Alec was breathing hard as he carefully kept demons from sneaking up on Jace and Isabelle. He wondered briefly why Lucifer hadn't managed to regain control of them, but he tried to shake the thoughts off. Lucifer had his reasons, Alec was sure. No matter what most people thought, the dreams were real. They _had_ to be.

. . .

 _Lucifer had just about given up for this realm. He'd been wandering around a few realms and this one seemed to be one of the better ones. It was beautiful, that was for sure. It seemed to be locked into a prefect spring setting. There were ponds with crystal clear water, meadows full of colorful flowers, and the singing of bird-like creatures everywhere._

 _A majority of the demons here weren't necessarily evil. They seemed to want to spend their time peacefully, feeding off good energy and intimacy. He supposed it was called the land of spring for a good reason._

 _He started walking back towards an easily accessible exit for himself. He was just under a tree when suddenly a man dropped in front of him. The man had unnaturally good looks, a mischievous grin, and striking eyes that identified him as a demon._

 _"Well, well," the man drawled, amusement and curiosity in his eyes. "What is Satan himself doing in the Realm of Lust?"_

 _Lucifer's wings were in a defensive position. "I've decided you all have been left to your own devices for too long, and I'm trying to change that."_

 _The demon shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Anyway, I'm an incubus. Want some help?"_

 _. . ._

"Alec?"

Alec jolted awake, eyes wide. Max was standing by his bed, holding an action figure with sleepy eyes. He blinked in confusion. "Yeah?"

Max shuffled his feet, looking awkward. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Of course," he agreed, moving over to let the five year old have room. "Could you not sleep?"

Max shook his head, curling up beside Alec. "I went to Jace's room like I normally do when I can't sleep, but he didn't answer, so I came here instead."

Alec wasn't sure what to do with that information, but his heart sank. Why was his little brother not coming to him first? He was fourteen and the eldest. He was responsible for all of his siblings. He resolved to get more involved in Max's life. "Oh. Well, whenever you need someone to go to, you can come to me, okay?"

"M'kay," Max said, already falling asleep.

Alec knew that he had some conflicting emotions towards Jace, but he would always be the older brother that took care of them all. His not-so-brotherly feelings for Jace started to fade as he realized how ridiculous he was being.

. . .

 _Lucifer's chin was up, his posture impeccable, and confidence practically oozed off him. His looked healthier, and his wings were dappled with bright feathers. He was standing in front of God and a dozen of the highest ranking angels._

 _"It has been a little over fifty years since I got out of the pit," he informed, since most of the gathered angels hadn't seen him in eons. He tried to ignore the dubious looks some of them had, instead focusing on his father's encouraging smile._

 _"Since then, I have been observing the effects of my rebellion, and planning how to remedy the negative parts. One of the main problems is the demons that Raziel had to deal with." He looked at Raziel, and the angel tilted his head in recognition._

 _"_ _I have the beginnings of a plan to make the demons become protectors of humanity, and those that refuse will be properly dealt with – most likely destroyed."_

 _"And where did you get this idea, Lucifer?" God inquired knowingly._

 _He maintained eye contact even though he knew this could go over badly with his brothers and sisters. "An incubus has been helping me for the past couple of decades, and he mentioned that some demons would probably be less bored if they had something to do."_

 _He was well aware of the incredulous looks being exchanged, but he kept his face neutral. Finally, Michael spoke. "And how are you going to achieve it, brother?"_

 _Lucifer grinned._

 _. . ._

It was a Saturday when Isabelle knocked on his door and came inside without invitation. She had a confused look on her face, and she seemed slightly annoyed.

"What's wrong, Izzy?"

She frowned at him. "Why didn't you just tell us?"

Alec felt panicked, heart stuttering to a stop. Tell them what? Had she found out something new about his dreams that he hadn't told her? Did she think he _was_ crazy? Was she about to turn on him? Each option was worse that the one before it. "Tell you what?"

She looked indignant. "You let me try to set you up with girls for _years_ , and never said _anything,_ you idiot!"

"Uh," he mumbled. He was caught in a mixture of relief that it wasn't something worse and horror that he had been found out. "Sorry?"

"You'd better be," she said. "Next time, tell us."

"Wait. Does Jace know?"

She gave him a look. "Duh. He knew before I did. Something about you not being very subtle when we were younger, whatever that means."

Alec's face felt hot.

. . .

 _"Are the plans ready to be set into action?"_

 _"Almost," Lucifer replied, voice velvety smooth. His wings shifted, drawing attention to how half of his feathers had grown back. "We are still working out a few problems, but the bloodlines are looking promising."_

 _"And what of the incubus?"_

 _"As helpful as usual, Raziel." He shot his brother a look. "We really must do something about your distaste for demons. Soon, you will be working with them, not against them."_

 _"I know. It's just hard to millenniums worth of negative opinions in such a short time."_

 _Lucifer laughed. "I should think that five centuries would be enough, brother."_

 _Raziel snorted. "Maybe for you, oh great Morning Star."_

 _Lucifer grinned, eyes lit up. He loved having positive interactions with his siblings. Sometimes_ _his new chance_ _seemed too good to be true._

 _. . ._

Alec yawned sleepily, tuning out Hodge's voice. He was watching rain drops platter against the windows instead of reading along in his book. Even though his dreams woke him up less now, he was still tired a lot.

If he was completely honest with himself, he actually looked forward to his dreams now. They were a constant in his life, and it was easy to draw comfort from them. He tried to not let them affect his life too much, but he was constantly wondering what Lucifer would think about different things. He almost considered Lucifer as the older brother he'd always wanted.

One major downside to the dreams was his constant frustration at the lack of information he had. He knew almost nothing about Lucifer's mysterious plan, and he saw very little of Lucifer's everyday actions. Sometimes he would get a glimpse of the fallen angel talking with demons or playing with angelic fledglings, but there was rarely anything concrete.

As far as he could tell, Michael had gotten Lucifer out of the pit in the 1100s, during the Crusades, and that everything was getting set up around the Protestant Reformation. The dreams were getting closer and closer to the current time. He wondered what would happen when they caught up.

"Alec!" Hodge barked. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Uhm, of course."

Hodge's eyebrows were raised. "Then what did I just say?"

Alec glanced down at the page his book was open to. "There are seven Princes of Hell that represent the seven deadly sins, and there's only been one confirmed sighting of a Prince."

Hodge frowned at him. "That's not what I said, but it is correct information. Stop reading ahead."

"Yes, sir," Alec agreed, deciding it was best to not point out that his dreams were the reason he knew that. Isabelle and Jace were giving him curious looks, and he shook his head, deciding to tell them later. Maybe they wouldn't ever think his dreams were entirely real, but they would never judge him.

. . .

 _"_ _It's almost time." Lucifer grinned, resisting the urge to bounce on his heels._

 _God smiled at him. "Indeed. Soon the fruit of your efforts will be apparent, and there should be no need for Shadowhunters only duty to be fighting demons."_

 _Raziel's eyebrows furrowed. "What_ are _the Shadowhunters going to do now? You never mentioned it, Lucifer."_

 _Lucifer's smile faded. "I . . . hadn't really thought about it. I guess they'll help me at first, but then they can do whatever. There will always be a need for law enforcement, so they will have that, but they won't need to fight demons."_

 _Before Raziel could respond, Lucifer stiffened. His eyes flashed with panic. "There is a battle between my loyal and the opposing demons. I need to help them."_

 _With that, Lucifer flew off in a hurry._

. . .

Alec jolted awake with a sharp gasp. He ran a hand through his hair. What had happened? Everything had been going so smoothly lately. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up, and he desperately hoped that he hadn't just seen the beginning of all Lucifer's plans crumbling.

His eyes flickered to his calendar. He was turning eighteen in less than a month. Then he would be able to go to Clave meetings with his parents.

. . .

 _"_ _Father!" Lucifer called as he quickly flew into the throne room, voice thick with wonder._

 _God look at him with a knowing smile. "Yes, my son?"  
Lucifer's eyes were wide and he seemed to be in slight shock. A smile crept onto his face, and a delighted, breathy laugh escaped. "It's time! It's finally time. Alexander Lightwood has been born."_

 _. . ._

When Alec awoke, he felt like he was going to pass out. His head was spinning, he was shaking, and his head was pounding. He staggered to his feet, feeling more confused that he ever had been before.

He started to scramble to his siblings rooms. Maybe they could figure out what Lucifer was talking about? Why did the fallen angel make it sound like his birth signaled the beginning of Lucifer's mysterious plans?

Lightning struck outside, and Alec ignored it. Little did he know that it would be last time he ever dreamt of Lucifer.


	2. The Beginning of Something New

_**A/N: Hiya, all. How have you been doing? Good, I hope. I know that I've posted this a bit later than was hoped, but there were parts that I was having to change as I wrote, and there still might be some mistakes. If there are, please let me know so that I can change them.**_

 _ **I would like to thank everyone that followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I love hearing your opinions and feel free to offer constructive criticism.**_

 _ **Songs listened to while writing:**_

 _ **Locked Away (Adam Levine),**_

 _ **How to Save a Life (The Fray),**_

 _ **Counting Stars (One Republic)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own any recognizable content. *Lies down to sulk.***_

 **~The Beginning of Something New~**

Alec closed into himself in the following weeks, shutting Isabelle, Jace, and Max out as he started spending every waking moment in either the library or Central Park. He had found a nice warded area that only downworlders went to, and even they were few and far between. The ones that did go ignored him after the first couple of times he went. It was a good place to try to take a break from his research on how to get Lucifer back. Despite his efforts to stay healthy enough to continue his searching, he could feel a constant cloud of dread and weariness weighing him down.

He was currently reading a book on demonology, hoping that it would help since in all of the books he had consulted on angels, not one of them mentioned Lucifer. Some vaguely referred to him as "Serpent", "Devil", and "Satan", but _none_ them seemed to want to admit that he had once been an angel. He had gone from being the great Morningstar to being considered the most evil thing in the whole universe.

Alec was about ready to thump his head on the table as he skimmed over yet another page of pointless information. It really was too bad, though, that he was so busy hunting for a way to get Lucifer back, because some of the information known on demon politics was actually really interesting. He knew some of it was incorrect because of the brief glimpses he had gotten in of Lucifer and the Princes, but some of it seemed accurate.

He got to a chapter on summoning demons by hiring a warlock, and his eyes lit up for the first time in three weeks. Maybe he could hire a warlock to summon him? Meeting him in person would be infinitely better than just dreams. He quickly shook his head, though. There were too many flaws in that plan: he did not have that much money, he would just make Lucifer mad, and there was _no way_ in any dimension that a warlock would agree to summon the Father of Demons.

Alec pushed the book away and stood up, raking a hand through his hair, grimacing at the greasy feeling. When was the last time he had washed his hair? He honestly could not remember.

He made his way to the kitchen, having trouble keeping his eyes opened. If he had though he slept bad with the dreams, it was nothing compared to going to sleep knowing that he would not get see what Lucifer was up to. He was so used to Lucifer always being there like a best friend or an awesome older brother, even, that it was painful for him to not be there.

He started to walk around the wall and into the kitchen when a hissed voice made him freeze on the spot. He listened carefully.

" - Well what are we supposed to do, Isabelle, since you apparently know everything?"

There was a long, drawn out sigh. "I don't know, Jace, but we have to do something. He's driving himself into the ground, going on like this. We can't just let him destroy himself!"

"Oh, of course, because that's exactly what I wanted. The perfect present. One self-destructing older brother for delivery. Honestly, Isabelle."

Alec's eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't being self-destructing, was he? He was eating and sleeping – well, some, anyway.

Isabelle made an infuriated noise, and there was a sharp click as she huffed and lightly stomped one of her heel-clad feet. "He's wasting away in the library all the time, and when he's not in there, he's Angel-knows-where! Have you even seen him lately? He looks like he hasn't slept or showered since his birthday."

"So what do you want me to do? Hold him down while you drug him and soap him up?" Jace asked rhetorically.

"Do you even care that he's slipping away, Jace, or are you just more concerned about Clary?"

Alec flinched at that. Was that it? His brother _had_ seemed slightly obsessed with the mundane-raised Shadowhunter since the other night at Pandemonium. It did seem like most of of his sentences were along the lines of " _Clary this, Clary that_.".

"By the Angel, no, Isabelle. Of course I care about Alec, but you and I both know that he's not going to stop until he finds some way to get his dreams back."

There was dead silence for a moment, then Isabelle spoke in a cracked whisper. "What if his dreams weren't real?"

Jace scoffed. "You and I both know that Alec knows way too much for those dreams to be anything but real. Remember that one time that we were fighting that Greater Demon and couldn't figure out how to kill it, and he just knew? When we asked him how, he just calmly said that Lucifer had mentioned it once. And have you noticed how he walks and talks? He's been picking up that mannerism from somewhere."

"Yeah," she quietly agreed, and Alec was just confused.

Jace spoke up. "I don't like the idea of Alec dreaming about _Satan_ anymore than you do, but he seems to think he's changed, and we have to trust him! Just so long as he doesn't start asking us to befriend ducks."

Alec did not want to hear anymore, and he quickly made his way to the door of the institute, planning to go back to the clearing in Central Park. He thought over what he had overheard, and he kept going back to the comments about him being self-destructive and having odd mannerisms. He did not think he had either. He pushed the thoughts away.

With his fast pace, it did not take long for him to get to the section of the massive park, and the downworlders there barely glanced at him before going back to what they were doing. They had gotten used to his presence.

Alec made his way to the large tree that he had taken to sitting under when he came and he started at the large reflection of the nearly full moon on the dark water of the large pond in front of him. Every once in a while he would glance up and watch as more and more downworlders showed up as it got later.

He took out his stele, turning it through his fingers in a poor imitation of what Lucifer sometimes did with a dagger as an intimidation factor. An unknown amount of time passed when the clearing fell into complete and utter silence, and Alec reached for one of his seraph blades immediately, rising to his feet with grace that had not been tarnished by his lack of training in the past few weeks.

Confidently strutting into the clearing was a tall man that was . . . colorful. His hair was perfectly spiked with what looked like glitter in it, was wearing rather dramatic makeup, clothes that were an explosion of color, and slightly heeled boots. He was also incredibly attractive.

 _No, bad Alec_ , he chastised himself. He did not find the downworlder attractive. His parents would never stand for it. Him being gay was already probably enough for him to be kicked out, and to like a downworlder was really pushing it. _Not like it matters. Someone like him would never be interested in someone like me._

Alec pushed the man out of his mind as he stared back into the pond, running back over what options he had to either get his dreams back or actually meet Lucifer in the waking world. Regardless, he wanted to know how he was involved in Lucifer's plans.

Maybe it really would just be better to summon him? He obviously knew about Alec and did not seem to have any ill feelings towards him. He had actually seemed very excited by the fact that he had been born.

"Ahem."

Alec looked up, startled, at the pointedly cleared throat. Standing above him, looking amused, was the sparkly man that had been wandering around the clearing. He blinked. "Did you, uh, need something?"

The man smirked and his oddly familiar green-yellow cat eyes practically gleamed. A warlock then.

"Yes, actually. I was giving out invitations to a party that I'm throwing for my cat's birthday, and I normally don't invite Nephilim, but how could I possibly possibly not invite someone with eyes like yours?"

The warlock's eyes raked over his form, and Alec felt the heat rising in his face, feeling mortified when he realized how filthy he looked. He knew the circles under his eyes had to be as dark as an abyss by now, as well.

The warlock grinned. "Aw, you're blushing. How adorable. I'll be expecting you at my party, Nephilim."

With that the warlock dropped a vibrant blue piece of paper into his lap and walked away with one eye dropping into a glittery wink.

Alec stared after him silently for nearly five minutes before he snapped out of it and quickly left, tucking the paper into his pocket without looking at it. He would not go, he knew, but something told him to not throw the paper away, and he was always one to go with his instincts.

He ran over everything over in his mind as he made his way back to the institute, wondering what exactly had just happened. Things like this _never_ happened to people like him. He wondered if he had imagined the entire thing, but when his fingers brushed the paper in his pocket, he knew it must have been real. He tried to push the warlock out of his mind. He had a fallen angel to find; he did not have time to go to a random party to stand awkwardly in a corner.

He quietly made his way back into the institute, closing the door with a near silent _click_ behind him. He started up the stairs, but a soft noise coming from the living room stopped him. He turned on his heel, making his way into the room, and he smiled at the sight he was greeted with.

Isabelle, Jace, and Max were are curled up in various different positions on the couches, all facing the door, probably waiting on him to get back. He felt a slight pang of guilt that he had worried them. He pulled blankets over all of them before he went up to his room to take a shower.

Some time later, skin and hair clean for the first time in some time, Alec sprawled out onto his bed, feeling incredibly sleepy. His last thought, instead of Lucifer, was of the colorful and glittery warlock that he had never gotten the name of.

…

Alec stretched as he slowly woke up, his muscles releasing some of the stiffness and tension from sleeping in the same position for too long, and he peeled open his eyes to glance at the time. When he did, he jolted so hard that he fell out of the bed, legs tangled in the covers. He had slept for a full fourteen hours. He had _never_ slept that long in his entire life. He felt very incredibly refreshed, though. He was just thankful for the pleasant change.

He untangled his legs and got up to get ready for the day. He was in a good mood already, and it seemed like nothing would change that anytime soon . . . until he found out that while he had been distracted the day before, apparently something had happened with Clary and she was apparently unconscious in the institute.

"What do you mean, you already told me?" he asked incredulously.

Jace looked annoyed. "I mean that I already told you. Three times. At least. And you said 'Okay.' every time."

Alec tilted his head, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I really don't remember." Then as an afterthought, he asked, "Is the mundane alright, at any rate?"

"She should be, oh and guess what I found out when I went to check on her? She does this thing in her sleep where –"

…

The next couple of days were a whirlwind of action. If Alec had one thing to say about Clary Fray, it was that she was incredibly good at being annoying. And confusing. She was sending a whirlwind of chaos around her, and it was getting ridiculous. It was very strange that she was the daughter of Valentine, and knew nothing of their world. It made no sense. Or maybe she was an element of Lucifer's plans. It had seemed like more and more strange things had started happening around him since that last dream.

He brushed off the thought as paranoia. He was starting to imagine people and things that could be involved in or affect the fallen angel's plans since he had first heard of them.

He glanced around his room, and let out a sigh. He wondered if that Silent Brother had left yet. He shuddered slightly, remembering his last experience with them, but steeled himself, leaving his room. Thankfully, the Silent Brother was gone, as were Jace and Clary, despite the incredibly early hour.

He started to make his way to the training room, but, after a moment's hesitation, turned on his heel to head to the exit of the institute. He wanted a break from the institute and being a Shadowhunter in general right now, and there was almost nothing better to take his mind off of things than mindlessly wandering through the city.

As often happened, his feet lead him towards the large park, but he kept away from any parts of the park meant for Shadowhunters or Downworlders. He observed the mundanes in curiosity, most of them looking half asleep, wondering what their lives were like. He could not imagine a life with so little worries. They were able to walk out their doors every day, always so sure that they would be walking back through their front door soon.

Caught as he was in his thoughts, he nearly missed a burly man bumping into an expensively dressed man and smoothly changing shape. He did a double take, but there was no mistaking the fact that he had just found a shape shifter. Figures.

He smoothly changed directions to follow it, and he briefly considered calling Jace and Izzy, but he knew that Jace was probably still busy with Clary, and Isabelle might still be asleep.

The shifter moved fluidly for nearly thirty minutes towards Brooklyn, changing shape three times, and he followed it, hand twitching towards his bow the entire time. He wondered if Lucifer knew that one of his underlings was wandering around the city.

The demon suddenly turned into an alley, and he hesitated for a moment, but followed after a moment. The first thing that he noticed about the alley was the disgusting smell that got stronger as he approached the warehouse door at the end of it. It definitely smelled like demons, and his Sensor was definitely sensing them. He was going to need backup.

He dropped back to the mouth of the alley, eyes flickering over the area, and pulled his phone from his pocket, easily dialing Isabelle's number.

" _Alec? Where are you?_ " she demanded immediately upon answering the phone.

He glanced at a sign on the street. "Just outside of Brooklyn. Look, I followed a shape shifter, and I think I just found a massive nest. It smells like it at any rate."

The was a pause. " _Hold on. I'm coming."_

There was a _click_ as she hung up the phone, and Alec rolled his eyes, not bothering to wonder how she was going to find him. She had her ways.

He was going to wait on her, but there was a faint squelch noise followed by at least a dozen hoots, and he grimaced. There were Raum demons then. He wondered if they were retrieving something for a higher ranking demon.

His eyes raked up the building the noises were coming from, and moved to the edge of the building, where the fire escape was. He launched himself onto it with a slight wince as there was a slight creak from his added weight. Thankfully, there was no pause in the noises from inside the building. He carefully made his way to the roof, and eventually crouched over a filthy skylight, peering down into the near darkness that was only broken by the faint morning light that was mostly concealed by the tall building beside it, cloaking the roof in shadows.

He quickly adjusted to the lighting, and he made out the glint of pale tentacles with blood red suckers. His nose wrinkled, and he tried to count their number. As far as he could tell, there were a little over twenty of them, but he was having trouble locating the shape shifter. He was getting a bad feeling, the hair on the back of his neck prickling, and he glanced around, wondering when Isabelle would get there.

"Well, well, what have we here?" a voice with a strange accent asked, and Alec's body stiffened, shocked that he had not heard it approach. "What, has a demon got your tongue?"

It laughed at its joke, and Alec let it approach him. When it was merely two feet from him, seeming to let its guard down in arrogance, he lunged at it, seraph blade glinting. It huffed out a breath as all of Alec's weight pinned it to the ground, and it made a horrible noise, viciously jerking its knee into his stomach, knocking him off it with an impressive display of strength.

His fingers flexed around his seraph blade and his eyes darted to the alley. He had never actually killed a demon, and he had no plan to change it now. When the demon pounced at him, he side stepped, trying to knock it out, but it was seeming very likely that he would have no choice but to make his first kill which he would rather not think about.

The shifter jumped up from its crouch, and moved with incredible speed, pinning him to the wall. He leaned his head away from its rather foul breath and prepared to sink the blade into its rib cage, when its eyes widened and it stumbled away. He watched it in confusion.

Its eyes flashed to an acid green color in panic and its hands started to shake in what he could only conclude was fear. It let out a sharp breath. "I apologize, my lord, I had not realized that it was you."

He froze, glancing around him, but they were alone. Why on earth would the demon call him that. He had only ever heard the demons refer to Lucifer himself as 'lord'. "What are you talk –"

"Alec!" his sister's voice sounded, and suddenly she was swinging herself onto the roof, and he dearly hoped that she had not heard anything.

The shifter backed up, looking cornered, and smoothly leaped off the edge of the building into another shadowy alley, quickly making its escape. Alec stared after it blankly, mind reeling, trying to make sense of what it had just said.

Isabelle looked over the side of the building and made a disappointed noise, lowering her whip. "It got away. Were there others?"

Alec snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, walking back to the windows with gravel crunching under his black leather boots. He peered through the windows, but saw no sign of the slimy creatures that had been there before. "There were some Raum demons, but I think they ran when I was fighting the shifter."

Isabelle hummed, and with no hesitation slipped back down the fire escape towards the door of the warehouse. He followed her, hoping that she was not about to do something stupid.

Isabelle kicked the door once with great enthusiasm, and it budged almost immediately, rust flying into the air. She quickly went inside, oddly silent considering the fact that anything that had been in there definitely knew they had entered.

What followed was nearly another hour of the two of them searching the building that was completely and totally deserted except for the disgusting smell. While a part of Alec was relieved that they did not have to fight, another part of him wanted to hunt down that shifter and demand answers.

Isabelle stopped and turned to him with a sigh, putting her whip away. "There's nothing here. We need to head back to the institute. I'm starving."

Alec's stomach let out a growl of agreement and they made their way back home, getting back sooner than he had expected. Almost the second he walked through the door, his phone buzzed with an incoming call.

He answered it and listened, slightly annoyed, as Jace demanded that he join Clary and him at Taki's for breakfast. He passed on the message to Isabelle, who went to change clothes and get the mundane.

He glanced at the time, and sure enough, it was still technically still breakfast time. He trudged to his room to get change out of his gravel-dust covered clothes and into something clean. He really hated hunting in the morning as it always made the day seem infinitely longer. Knowing his luck, there would wind up being a hunt that night as well.

. . .

Not much time had passed when Alec found himself staring at the blue piece of paper in his hands with more than a little bit of shock, trying to keep his siblings and the mundanes from noticing. It was identical to the one that the sparkly warlock had given him a few days before. "It's a party invitation."

"No kidding," Jace said dryly, grabbing the paper from him, and quickly reading it over. "It's for a party tonight that is being hosted by 'Magnus the Magnificent Warlock'. I guess we found him."

The mundane, Simon, cut in. "Wait, like Magnus Bane?"

Jace looked rather smug considering it was Isabelle who remembered the paper. "Magnus isn't exactly a common name. Apparently he's the High Warlock of Brooklyn."

Alec felt a bit like he was drowning. He had not planned on ever seeing the cat-eyed warlock again, and he felt like smacking his head onto the table when he realized that the warlock's name was on the stupid invitation the whole time. "Does this mean we have to go?"

When Isabelle and Jace shared identically wicked looks, he groaned loudly, but his heart sped up and his palms started sweating slightly in anticipation.

. . .

Since the party did not start until ridiculously late, Alec and Jace made their way to the weapons room and spent the majority of the afternoon training and making sure the weapons were still in good shape.

It was not until nearly six in the afternoon when Jace grew bored of sparring that Alec could go to the kitchen, quickly eat some leftovers, and head to his room. He closed his door behind him, and quickly took a shower, yawning multiple times. It was almost six when he finally collapsed on his bed to get some much needed sleep before the party, and his dreams were haunted by both Lucifer's melodic laughter and the warlock's – Magnus' – eyes glinting from the shadows in amusement.

. . .

It was a little after midnight when they made their way down the Brooklyn streets, Isabelle the only one among them not wearing black. Her silver sequins were creating a disco ball effect every time they walked under a street light, and she seemed to be over exaggerating her movements to make the effect more obvious.

Thankfully, it was not too long before they came across some vampires' motorcycles, which answered whether there would be vampires of werewolves there. They were almost never invited to the same parties because of their animosity towards each other. Jace was not-so-subtly putting holy water in some of the gas tanks of the motorcycles.

Isabelle seemed highly impatient to get into the party, and she pressed the buzzer with ' _Bane_ ' written on it several times before Alec told her to stop being rude.

Eventually the door was thrown open by Magnus with an expression that was a mixture of curiosity and slight annoyance, probably at the multiple buzzes. His eyes flickered over them, and there was no way that Alec imagined the way that the warlock's eyes hovered over him longer than anyone else.

Alec felt the heat rise in his cheeks and he barely resisted looking at his shoes, practically hearing Lucifer lecturing him about appearing confident and in control in every situation.

After a brief conversation with the others, Magnus let them in. Alec actually really wanted to try to initiate a conversation with the attractive warlock, but Clary dragged him away, presumably to talk to him about her memories. He sighed, but really, he did not have a chance of the warlock liking him anyway.

Isabelle and Simon had made their way to the dance floor, and after a moment, Alec made his way towards Clary, Jace, and Magnus. He reached them just as a vampire started yelling and complaining about his ruined motorcycles, and Magnus seemed unbothered, easily using his magic to force the vampire to leave.

Alec laughed almost without realizing it. "We put the holy water in his gas tank, you know."

"Alec, shut up!" Jace said, looking warily at Magnus.

Magnus' eyes went to him, and he was once again startled by how unusual his eyes were. "I had assumed that."

Before Alec knew it, he was getting herded up to Magnus' room with Jace and Clary. The bedroom was . . . colorful to say in the least. For the majority of the conversation that followed, Alec did not say much, but his eyes kept going back to Magnus, and he hoped that the warlock did not notice. But of course he did, and he winked at Alec when no one else was looking.

Alec could feel that his skin was flushed as he left the room with the others, and he started to follow Jace, but stopped when he felt a hand encircle his wrist. He turned quickly to come face to face with striking eyes.

Magnus had a slightly predatory grin on his face, and the glitter in his hair was reflecting light in a highly distracting way. He released Alec's wrist, and glanced over him. "You want to get a drink with me, blue eyes?"

Alec sputtered slightly, but eventually said, "Um, uh, sure."

He followed the tall man through the crowd, watching with some awe as people moved out of him way without seeming to even think about it. He wondered exactly how powerful he was.

They approached the bar that had been set up, and Magnus waved him towards a bar stool. "Sit. Sit. What would you like to drink?"

Alec lowered himself onto the stool beside Magnus, and he shrugged. "As long as it isn't alcoholic, dangerous, or have unwanted effects, then whatever it fine."

Magnus seemed to pout. "Now that's no fun. What's a little alcohol going to do?"

He shifted slightly in his seat. "There might be a hunt later –"

Magnus waved his hand, a smooth and graceful movement that reminded him of Lucifer's controlled grace. "That's no excuse."

On some signal that he had apparently missed, the four-armed lilac skinned woman that was acting as bartender slid a set of shots to them.

He opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. Magnus had a point; Jace and Isabelle could handle anything that came up. He picked up a shot and downed it, his throat burning.

Magnus grinned delightedly and picked up a shot glass as well. "I thought that you might not show up, blue eyes."

Alec got a sheepish smile on his face as he reached for another shot. "I almost didn't, but we needed answers for Clary. And my name's Alec, by the way."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "I know. It looks like I owe Miss Fray a 'thank you' then."

Alec did not reply, and there was a slightly awkward silence between them as they finished the shots in front of them, and the bartender gave them more.

He watched Magnus out of the corner of his eye, and he blurted, "Can you show me some magic." His eyes widened as he realized what he had said. "I mean – erm – sorry, I've never really talked to a warlock before."

Magnus looked amused. "I can show you a lot of things, blue eyes."

Alec felt the blood rush to his face as the warlock winked at him, and there was no misinterpreting the statement. He must have been getting drunk fast though because all he said was, "Maybe I'd like that."

Magnus' eyes widened, obviously not expecting that, but before he could say anything, Jace showed up. He looked annoyed. "There you are. The mundane's turned into a rat. I guess his true side is showing."

Alec looked at his brother, and his face seemed kind of blurry and the red lights in the room were shining off his strangely. A noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle left his mouth. "You look like a demonic angel."

Jace looked at him incredulously and turned to Magnus with an expectant expression.

Magnus shrugged. "Sorry, I must have gotten him drunk." He gave Alec a considering look. "He is rather amusing like this, though."

Jace looked exasperated, and he tugged Alec up. "We have to leave before the rat gets lost."

Before he was pulled away, Magnus slipped a bright green piece of paper into his front pocket and winked. "Call me."

Jace dragged him away. Alec stumbled and protested, "But I was talking to the glittery rainbow!"

Jace snorted, but continued to pull him away.

Alec kept getting side tracked by different things as he was pulled along, and he kept stumbling. The room was spinning slightly, causing him to laugh quietly.

Suddenly, Jace stopped and said something. Alec did not hear what. The blond suddenly swore loudly, and pulled him along behind him as he headed towards the door.

"Wha'?" Alec asked.

"The mundane's gone."

Oh. Huh.

Isabelle appeared out of seemingly no where, and started gently leading Alec away. She seemed upset. "Come on, Alec. Jace and Clary will come back in a little bit. I think they're looking for Simon."

Alec made a noise that might be taken as an "Okay.".

The way back to the institute was a blur, but he could feel his head clearing just slightly. Isabelle left him outside his bedroom door, but he didn't feel like going to sleep. He made his way towards the roof, stumbling slightly, so that he could get some fresh air.

He sat well away from the edge and observed the bright lights of the city. He wondered what it would look like if the lights were some other color, like blue or green. He laughed.

There was an amused noise behind him, and then a sharp stink in his neck. He started feeling very sleepy, and panic coursed through his veins.

"Sorry, little lord, but I have my orders."

The last thing that Alec saw was pale skin and eyes that looked eerily similar to Magnus'.


	3. Ice

**_A/N: Greetings! So, I'm going to go ahead and give a fair warning that a_ lot _is revealed in this chapter, so for those of you that desperately want to know what on earth is happening, here you go! I don't know if I ever said this, but just in case, I am open to ideas if anyone wants to give them._**

 ** _I really like writing this story and trying to do something different, and I'm really glad that everyone seems to be enjoying it so far!_ _I actually just finished the rough draft of a Christmas Malec fic that I plan on posting in early December._ _Now, on with the story._**

 _ **Songs listened to while writing:**_

 _ **Monsters (Ruelle),**_

 _ **The Rest of My Life (Ashley Tisdale),**_

 _ **V**_ _ **iva la Vida (Coldplay)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: My imaginary lawyers were, once again, unsuccessful in their task of buying the characters. Rats.**_

 **~Ice~**

When he awoke, there were a multitude of problems that he realized almost immediately. There was a persistent throbbing in his temples, his muscles were sore, and his mouth was chalky and tasted like death warmed over. He groaned and moved his hands to his head, shivering all the way at the extreme temperature.

The next serious problem he noticed was that he was most certainly _not_ in his bed. The sheets and mattress were unnaturally comfortable; he wasn't sure if it would be more accurate to say heavenly or sinfully so.

He moved his hand to hunt for a weapon on himself, but all of his weapons – and clothes – were gone. Instead, he was dressed in black pajamas that felt like the same material of the sheets. Creepily enough, _Alexander_ was monogrammed on the pocket of the button-up top in dark blue fabric. He abruptly remembered being knocked out on top of the institute.

He quickly sat up, eyes opening, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, assessing the rest of the room with quick eyes, hoping to locate a half-way decent weapon. The first thing that struck him about the room was how ridiculously extravagant it was.

The color scheme was apparentely dark brown, metallics, and a multitude of blue shades. The ceiling was high and arching with a crystal chandelier hanging over the rug in front of the bed.

There was a light crackling sound coming from his left, and he turned to see a huge fireplace that was lit. Bordering the fireplace were huge, completely filled bookcases. There were lavish armchairs sitting in front of it all.

Directly across from the bed was a wall covered in royal blue drapes that were broken only by a huge flat screen television. He glanced to the right and saw a mostly plain wall that had three doors. He would investigate those in a moment, since one was hopefully the way out.

He made his way to the dark blue drapes, and pulled one to the side, revealing floor-to-ceiling windows. He did a double take, a wave of both fear and awe taking over him.

There was a beautiful snowy mountain stretched out in the distance that was lit by the strangest blue tinted light. When he looked up to see what was causing it, his mouth dropped open. He had never, not in his entire life, seen stars this clearly. He dragged his eyes back to the mountain and leaned forward as movement caught his eye.

 _No way!_ There were two frosty tinted giants moving across the mountain, carrying what looked like some type of huge deer across their shoulders. One of them laughed and he caught the glimpse of blood red eyes and brightly glinting teeth that looked like they could rip a human to shreds.

Before he could completely comprehend what he was seeing, there was a bright, fiery light shooting into the sky. His eyes zeroed in on it, and he saw a nearly human-looking figure flying, but his skin was the color of glowing molten lava, his hair smoking spikes.

Alec was seriously considering pinching himself to see if he was dreaming because there was no way that he was on earth, and surely no kidnapper would drag him into a different dimension, right? Right?

 _Knock, knock, knock._

He quickly turned on his heel, trying to find a weapon as the dark wooden door quietly swung open. There was no time for anything, though, and he tried to launch himself back towards the bed, hoping to use it as cover.

All of him impromptu plans crashed around him, however, when a shockingly familiar silky voice spoke, and he started to feel light headed. "Good, you are up. I had worried that you were injected with too much narcotic."

Alec looked up, blue eyes wide, and all of the air escaped from his lungs as he stumbled, catching the bed frame to hold himself up.

The handsome man standing in front of him was someone who's face he knew almost as well as his own. His skin was lightly tanned, his hair a slightly messy blond halo around his head, and a smirk played on his lips that somehow seemed both lazy and mischievous. His eyes glowed with an unnatural, inhuman light. He was, without a doubt, the brightest, most attention drawing thing in the room. And he was the fallen angel Lucifer.

Alec gaped, made an undecipherable noise, and promptly fainted.

. . .

"Where the hell is Alec at?!" Isabelle demanded, hovering over both Jace and Clary, while Simon barely managed to get away through the door. That was fine. She would just find him later. "Maybe he could talk some sense into the two of you! What in Raziel's name were you thinking, going to the vampires?!"

Clary winced, but Jace's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, where is Alec? He's here, isn't he?"

Isabelle faltered. "No. I went to check on him last night to make sure he'd gone to sleep, but he wasn't there. But neither were you. I thought he'd gone with you!"

Jace was on his feet in a second. "Well, he obviously didn't come with us. Are you sure he wasn't in there this morning?"

Isabelle started to look very worried. "I'm sure. Maybe he just went walking like he does sometimes? Or maybe he's in the library?"

The two immediately started running towards the vast room, hoping their brother would be in there. With everything that had been going on with Valentine, they needed to be very careful. The library was empty of all but Hodge.

"Have you seen Alec?" Isabelle demanded, nails digging into her palm with nervous anticipation, already dreading the worst.

Hodge looked confused and shook his head. "No, not since yesterday. Why?"

Jace cursed loudly, and the two ran from the room just as Clary managed to get there, out of breath. They made their way to Alec's bedroom just in case, but it was completely devoid of anyone other than them.

Jace ran an agitated hand through his hair. "He's alive, I know that much. The parabatai rune isn't acting up. Where could he be?"

Isabelle though quickly. "Maybe Magnus's?"

Jace's nose twisted. "The warlock's? Why would he be there?"

"Maybe because they hit it off so well? He could have gone over there this morning and have been somewhere else in the institute last night."

Jace looked grim, but nodded. "Let's go over there and check, just in case."

The three of them, Clary following with a slightly lost expression, quickly made their way towards Brooklyn. Each second seeming infinitely long with their adrenaline pumping, and they all were twitching with the need to do something.

Eventually, _finally_ , they were in front of Magnus's, and Isabelle quickly held the buzzer down several times, getting aggravated when they weren't immediately let in.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU NEED SO DESPERATELY THAT YOU CANNOT HAVE SOME PATIENCE?!" came the thundering voice.

"Is Alec here? We're from the Clave." Isabelle immediately answered, pushing the button to respond.

There was a pause, then: "Alec. He's the adorable one with the blue eyes, right?"

If it had been under different circumstances, Isabelle would have been amused. "Yes, and we can't find him."

"Well, he's not here. Hold on, I'll come down." There was a touch of concern in his voice.

They did not have to wait long before the door opened to reveal the warlock dressed almost as eccentrically as he had been the night before. He observed them with disapproving eyes. "Did you check under the couch?"

Jace's hands clenched into fists, and his golden eyes were alight with fury. "My parabatai is missing, presumably kidnapped, and you're making stupid jokes?"

Magnus looked slightly insulted. "Are you sure that he's missing and that he didn't just wander off? Surely you've called him?"

Isabelle started to respond, but sputtered, feeling slightly stupid. She had forgotten to try to call him. She quickly pulled her cell phone out under the warlock's amused gaze.

She wasn't surprised when the call would not go through. She lowered the phone and shook her head. "It won't even ring, and he always keeps his phone on."

Magnus shifted slightly, and he suddenly looked all business, worry flashing in his eyes. "Do you have something I can use to try a tracking spell with?"

Isabelle and Jace both fumbled through their pockets, and eventually Jace removed a knife from his boot. "Here. This is his. I just grabbed it the other day so it should work."

Magnus nodded, and his fingers were suddenly flashing with sparks as he mumbled words that were in no language recognizable to Isabelle. The hair on the back of her neck prickled at the power coming off the warlock.

He looked grim when he stopped, and he shook his head. "There is absolutely nothing, which shouldn't be possible. Even if I performed this spell without something of his, it should still have a faint signal, even if they were being purposely concealed, but there's nothing." He paused, a horribly regretful look appearing on his face. "Normally that only happens when the person trying to be located is de –"

Jace cut in, "He's alive! My parabatai rune hasn't changed at all, and I would feel it if anything like that had happened."

Magnus tilted his head, a curious expression on his face. "This is most odd. I've never heard of that particular rune making a mistake in all the years that I've been alive, but this spell has never failed on me before." He ran a hand through his spiked hair. "This should not be possible."

The warlock and three shadowhunters exchanged grim looks, all having a really bad feeling about this.

. . .

The next time he woke up, his stomach was growling and the mouth-watering smell of breakfast food was flooding the bedroom. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling horribly confused and disoriented.

Not five inches from his face, Lucifer grinned and straightened back up, shoving a tray full of food into his arms. "Now, are you going to pass out again, or are we going to talk while you eat?"

Alec's mouth was hanging open, his eyes widened, and he couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. "L-Lucifer?"

The devil nodded happily, and he gracefully sank down into an armchair that had been moved to the bedside. "The one and only. Surprised to see me?"

Alec nodded, and he suddenly felt very young. "Where am I?"

Lucifer tilted his head to the side, observing the shadowhunter with an eerie intensity. "Eat, and all shall be told."

Alec's stomach growled loudly at the reminder and Lucifer laughed, a silky and angelic noise. He felt the heat rise to his face and he quickly grabbed a piece of toast, biting into it.

Lucifer rested his elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his chin in his hand, lightly crossing his legs as he did so. "You have been dreaming of me, have you not?"

Alec nodded.

Lucifer nodded, a pleased expression on his face. "Good, then you know of my actions lately. How much do you know of my plans?"

He swallowed a mouthful of bacon, and said, "Not much. Just that you've been working on them for a very, very long time, and that that incubus that you met in Hell is helping you with them."

Lucifer looked considering, and he smoothly stood, making his way to the open curtains. It was still dark, and the mountain was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. The fallen angel clasped his hands behind his back, gazing into the dark. Alec realized with a start that he could not see his wings.

When Lucifer spoke, his voice was softer but still every bit as attention-grabbing as before. He was undoubtfully one of those rare people that could always hold everyone's attention no matter his tone of voice. "You know the barest of basics then." A frown played on the corners of his mouth, and his face had the deep blue light from outside reflected on it. "I'm sure you know by now that you are involved in my plans?"

Alec nodded and pushed the now empty tray to the side, getting out of bed and joining Lucifer in front of the windows, his eyes once again drawn to some icy blue giants. His head felt like is was overloading from how surreal this way. "Yes, I had figured as much."

Lucifer turned his head towards him, and Alec was struck by how much he really did look like an angel. "You are involved in my plans more than you could ever imagine, Alexander Lightwood."

Alec thought about telling him to call him Alec out of habit, but he decided not to. He said nothing, and felt very nervous. He hated it when people relied on him too much. He always seemed to mess it up.

Lucifer turned his entire body towards Alec, a deliberate smoothness in his movements that spoke of decades of practice. He stepped closer to the shadowhunter, a serious look in his eyes. "I want you to rule Hell in my stead."

Alec took a second to process that, but when he did, a hysterical laugh pushed its way out of his mouth, and he wondered if he had finally gone crazy. "Very funny, Lucifer, but I'm not going to pass out again."

Lucifer said nothing, eyes still serious.

His laughter abruptly stopped, his stomach clenching in horror. "You're not serious, right? I mean, I'm a shadowhunter! I could never rule hell. Demons are evil!"

Lucifer looked amused. "Peace, little shadowhunter. All demons are not 'evil' as you so claim, and you were born with the express intent of taking the throne."

Alec stumbled back, feeling like he had been doused with ice water. "What?" he whispered. "No. No, that's not possible. I'm supposed to take the Lightwood seat in the Clave and be a shadowhunter. I'm supposed to hunt demons, not rule them! I refuse."

Lucifer's expression of amusement never changed, an almost fond look crossing his face. "No, your parents want you to take the seat, but you were never meant to. Your birth was prepared for by myself, Raziel, the archangels, and my father himself for centuries in advance. Your reign has been highly anticipated for a very long time, Alexander."

He shook his head numbly, looking for any flaw in the plan. Because, really, he doubted God would ever be overly interested in him. Not even Jace would be so arrogant. "But – but I'll die in just a few decades!"

Lucifer quirked an eyebrow, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You became immortal the second of your eighteenth birthday. You will be this age for all eternity. If you're concern is getting into human bars, you can easily pass as twenty-one with a fake ID."

"But –"

Lucifer shook his head, cutting him off. "Listen, please. Father knows I have made many mistakes in my time, but I have been given a wonderful second chance that I never thought possible. Unfortunately, I am unable to deal with the demons on my own." A regretful look flashed over his features, his shoulders slumping slightly in tired resignation.

His inhuman eyes snapped to Alec's face. "You, however, can. You were blessed by my father, my brothers, my sisters, and myself to be capable of more than even I know. But I do know that you have the power to take control of the many rings of Hell, scattered throughout so many dimensions, and help not only the demons but the earth itself." He gave Alec a sidelong look. "After all, if the demons are united under a common banner of peace, how shall they harm the humans?"

Alec had to admit that that was a good point, but he felt like the entire situation was one big cosmic joke. Surely he would have noticed if he was blessed with amazing powers. His family would have noticed. Wait. "But what about my family?"

"That is your choice." A wicked grin covered the devil's face. "You do, of course, need to overthrow the Clave and instal a group of advisers and liaisons. Your council will be granted immortality, so you could always make them part of your council if you so desire."

Alec sputtered, feeling so in over his head. "Make them immortal? Overthrow the Clave? A council? What?"

Lucifer looked slightly sheepish. "Apologies. I may have overloaded you with too much information."

"You think?" Alec grumbled, slightly surprised at how comfortable he felt around the fallen angel. Although, he'd always viewed Lucifer as a kind of older brother that he'd always wanted.

Lucifer made an amused noise. "Think of it like this, Alexander. What would the Clave do if you did take control of Hell and requested that demons no longer be killed on sight? If you tried to make peace with them and get demon seats within their council?"

Alec imagined it with a grimace, and he felt uncomfortable thinking in such a negative way about his own government. It was practically treason. "Probably laugh in my face and try to get me admitted into a mundane psych ward."

Lucifer nodded. "And if you tried to get downworlders equal representation within their chambers?"

Alec frowned, scuffing his bare foot on the carpet beneath him. "Okay, okay. I get. The Clave has got to go. But I can't just put a new government into place and expect everyone to just go along with it."

"Why not?"

Alec made a strangled noise. " _Why not_?" he repeated. "Because you can't just do that!"

Lucifer shook his head, an amused smile curling on lips. "You have much to learn, little shadowhunter – or shall I say 'little lord'?"

Alec's head snapped up. "That's what that those two demons called me."

Lucifer nodded. "Most of my council and the higher ranks will refer to you as that, although the lower ranks will refer to you as 'lord'. It is your new title. Lord Alexander, King of Hell. It has a nice ring to it, does it not? I shall have to get you a crown made to make it official."

Alec had no idea how to respond to that, and he realized that that shifter must have been pretty high on the demon hierarchy scale, so he blurted: "Why can I not see your wings?"

Lucifer looked startled for a second, then laughed softly. "That's right; you could see my wings in your dreams." He looked somewhat awkward, which really did not suit his confident frame. "I normally have them concealed, at least when I'm here. Some of my feathers have yet to return, and it still makes many demons uncomfortable. Soon, angels should be welcomed here, and they will grow used to it."

"And where are we?"

Lucifer suddenly straightened up to his full height, a radiant and almost proud expression taking over his face, and he raised his arms in a presenting gesture. "Welcome to the ice realm of Hell. This is my personal favorite."

Alec sputtered again, feeling lightheaded. "Wait – you mean we're in Hell _right now_?!"

"Yes. We have a few things to do before we leave here. Put this on." With a graceful movement of his right hand, a pair of dark clothes appeared on the end of the bed.

Alec warily made his way over to the pile as he saw the expensive-looking material. There was a pair of regular black pants, but the shirt was very different from anything else he had ever worn. A majority of the material was black, and it was made of a silky material with the faintest charcoal designs. He wrinkled his nose, but started changing clothes as requested, finally sliding on a pair of black leather boots. "Where are we going?"

"To a separate realm that my father has temporarily made for our use."

"What's so special about it?" he inquired as he looked at his reflection in one of the windows, and he once again wondered _why_ God would care so much about him of all people.

He did a double-take when he saw his reflection. He looked like a different person. He had never been dressed so nicely, and he really almost did look like a lord. Even his hair seemed somehow neater despite him not brushing it, and his eyes seemed to stand out more vibrantly than normal. Strangely enough, he felt incredibly okay with the change of clothing styles and did not crave his worn sweaters.

Lucifer handed him a dark trench coat. "Put that on, too. It's quite cold outside." He addressed Alec's question. "Time will move incredibly slowly there. Father didn't get into the specifics with me, but it is something like a day in there for every few earth hours."

His eyes widened as he shrugged on the coat. "Why do we need that?"

Lucifer gestured for him to follow him as he left the room with a liquid fluidity in his movements that Alec had spent hours upon hours trying to mimic when he was a child. The fallen angel glanced over his shoulder at the shadowhunter. "I'm sure you've already noticed, but there is a storm brewing. We have little time before it hits, and you must be ready."

Alec tried to observe the rest of the huge mansion as he followed the fallen angel. "But I thought that everything was falling into place, and that peace was coming?"

Lucifer made an amused noise. "Before any peace, there must be a struggle. So is the balance of the world." He gave Alec a sidelong look. "Do you truly think that all of the demons just accepted it when I informed them that a new king was going to take control from me and that there was to be peace with humans?"

He shook his head dumbly, wondering why he hadn't thought of that.

"They have had a lot of time to get used to the idea, and most are accepting it quite well. Some even seem relieved. There are those, however, that take great joy in harming humans, and they are gathering forces quickly. They seem to be trying to use Valentine Morgenstern, stupid man that he may be, as a means to get onto earth to try eradicate the human race in one final swoop."

His eyes widened, and he felt a jolt of fear. "Oh. Wow."

Lucifer's mouth twitched. "Yes, 'wow' is rather accurate." He stopped in front of a room. "Come. You must meet my council. They will be yours for some time until you start making your own personal council, although mine will always be willing to offer their assistance, even after I have regained my position among the choirs of angels."

Lucifer opened huge double doors, and they stepped into a massive room that had a huge round table made of darkly stained glossy wood. Fifteen people simultaneously rose to their feet, all murmuring "My lords.".

Alec felt overwhelmed at the very different-looking creatures in front of him, and was surprised by how human-like they all looked. None of them looked entirely human, of course, but he was used to grotesque demons.

The demons all sat in one fluid movement as Lucifer waved a dismissive hand, and he realized that they all had various drinks in front of them. "Come, Alexander. Sit."

Together, he and Lucifer sat in two of the high-backed throne-like chairs. He was struck by how there was no head of the table and all of the chairs were the exact same. He had expected something more . . .

Well, honestly he didn't know what he expected, but this obvious display of equality surprised him, although it probably shouldn't since he had known Lucifer for practically his whole life.

"Alexander, this is my council. Each of the demons sitting at this table are in charge of one of the twenty realms of Hell, and I trust each with my life." He paused, looking pained. "As you can tell, there are only fifteen representatives despite the existence of twenty realms. The other five, unfortunately, immediately separated themselves from the rest of Hell when they realized that my plans were not going to change."

All of the council members, Lucifer included, bowed their heads mournfully at this. The fallen angel brightened soon after, though. "All gathered in this room, as well as myself, will be assisting in any way that we can while you learn everything you need to and will help you stay informed of the happenings in all of the realms."

A sinfully handsome man (pun one-hundred percent intentional) spoke up, familiar eyes glinting. "It would be our honor to help you, little lord."

Alec snapped, remembering where he had seen the dark-haired demon. "You're the one that brought me here! I feel like I've met you before that, though."

He inclined his head in recognition. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, leader of the incubi, and father of one Magnus Bane."

Alec's eyes widened, and everything clicked into place. At least he now had a good explanation for how ridiculously attractive Magnus was. Having the leader of sex demons as your father would certainly explain that. "Wait, you're the demon that gave Lucifer this whole idea in the first place? And one of the Princes? And Magnus's father?"

Asmodeus looked amused and glanced at Lucifer. "Yes, little lord."

"Hm," he hummed, sitting back in his throne-like chair, and he settled in to listen to the introduction for the rest of the council members, feeling a lot like a small child trying to make it seem like he understood the adult's conversation.

When the Princes were introduced, he realized that Mammon (greed), Leviathan (envy), and Amon (wrath) were all noticeably absent. That meant three of the seven Princes were probably in the five "evil" realms. That did not bode well.

Lucifer seemed to be anxious to get into that realm that God had created, though, because he stood, and all of the demons rose as well. Alec hurried to follow. "While Alec and I are away, I expect you to cover things in our place. The throne hours may be split between you in any way you so desire. Those of you that have children or charges to be involved in the next stages of the plans, check in on them and make sure they are ready, but do keep from alerting them to your presence. Especially if they are not particularly fond of you."

Was it his imagination or did his eyes flick over to Asmodeus? Were Asmodeus and Magnus on bad terms? That wasn't good, especially since he was probably going to need Magnus's assistance with the witches and warlocks, if any of this was actually real and not some super weird dream. It really was strange that he was already thinking of plans, especially since he still had so many questions to ask.

"Does anyone have anything to add?" Lucifer asked, but none of the assembled demons said anything. The fallen angel nodded. "Good, then. Keep your underlings out of trouble with the shadowhunters. Meeting adjourned."

The council members left the room, presumably to go back to their own realms, and he wondered if the ice realm was the realm of pride. Lucifer certainly seemed fond of it. He wondered if Lucifer would stay in control of his realm once he went back to heaven, or if he would leave that in Alec's control as well.

Lucifer made his way to a door that suddenly appeared in the corner of the meeting room, and he swung open the door, letting a bright light illuminate the room. Alec's eyes widened.

Lucifer held his arm out in a presenting gesture, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Are you ready to begin your training, Lord Alexander Lightwood, future king of Hell? If so, step through the door and into the next great era of your everlasting life."

Alec quickly and surprisingly easily made up his mind. It felt like everything in his life had led up to this one event that would forever change everything he had ever known.

Deciding to embrace Lucifer's need for dramatics, he held his head high and easily strolled forward, letting his black coat flare behind him. He met Lucifer's eyes seconds before stepping into the eternal light.


	4. How to Train Your Shadowhunter

_**A/N: Good afternoon. I decided to go ahead and post this a day before I had originally planned to. I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. It really means a lot to me, and I'll try my best to keep this story up to your standards. This chapter has a lot of little time skips.**_

 _ **And guess what? This is the longest chapter yet. Yay!**_

 _ **I don't have anything else of importance to say, so here you go. Enjoy.**_

 _ **Songs listened to while writing:**_

 _ **Hall of Fame (The Script),**_

 _ **Can't Wait to be King (The Lion King),**_

 _ **and Fearless (Olivia Holt)**_

 **~How to Train Your Shadowhunter~**

When Alec stepped out of the bright portal doorway, he quickly examined his new surroundings. The portal had led to a huge clearing with brightly colored grass surrounding a massive ranch-style house in the center.

His eyes strayed warily to the huge trees that surrounded the clearing. He didn't recognize what kind they were, but they were dark and seemed to almost bind the rest of the land in a shadowy embrace. He shivered slightly.

Light footfalls sounded behind him, and then Lucifer was standing beside with an amused look on his face. "My father seems to think that we need a more . . . homely place to stay at for your training."

Alec made a vague noise in the back of his throat that could be taken as agreement, although he wondered how anything surrounded by those trees could be homely. "So how exactly is this going to work?"

Lucifer started walking towards the house, and Alec hastened to follow. "Let's get inside first, shall we? I do wonder what my father has given us."

"Okay," he said, agreeing readily enough, but he was practically bouncing with questions that he couldn't wait to ask.

When they walked into the house, the first thing that Alec noticed was that, in the way that Lucifer had predicted, the house seemed very warm and inviting, and all together very different from the mansion he had been in within Hell, as it had given off a very regal and refined air that he really didn't know what to think of.

Lucifer's eyes quickly glanced around before he smoothly moved to the staircase, all but gliding up the stairs. Alec, trying to take everything in, followed him.

Upstairs there was a small library, many cushioned chairs, and some bean bags. There were two other closed doors.

Lucifer opened one, and Alec looked inside. The room was brightly colored in shades of white, gold, and light blue. Lucifer's head tilted. "This room is probably mine. This is how I preferred things before my fall."

At Lucifer's nod at the other door, Alec opened it and found a room decorated in dark colors, metallics, and dark blues. He realized something. "Hey, this is the same color scheme as that room I woke up in!"

Lucifer nodded. "Yes, I must have forgotten to mention that that will become your bedroom once we return back to Hell. In fact, that entire house will be yours."

Alec's eyes widened. "Wait, that's my house now?"

"Yes, of course. Surely you realized that you would have a house? And don't worry, you won't have to take council with the other demons there. There is still the throne . . . well, I would say room, but it's really just a cavernous area with a huge obsidian throne."

"Council? Obsidian throne? What?"

Lucifer looked amused. "Elegant as ever, I see. You shall have throne hours where any demons that have a need of something may come request it. Your throne – or my throne right now, I suppose – is made of obsidian. As uncomfortable as it sounds, the obsidian is almost fluid there and feels quite nice. And you will, of course, have a crown to signify your status."

"Uh . . . " he said. "I thought you were kidding about that."

Lucifer looked slightly offended. "I would never joke about a crown."

"Sorry?" Alec said, but it sounded more like a question. "So what exactly would these throne hours consist of?"

"Oh, you know," Lucifer said airily, "mainly listening to demons whine and complain for stupid reasons while you wonder if you should just destroy them and be done with it. It's quite amusing, really."

Alec blinked. He was starting to wonder if crossing through that door had been a good idea or not. "Oh."

Lucifer suddenly clapped his hands, eyes glinting mischievously, and Alec felt wary. The fallen angel grinned wickedly. "Let us begin your training, Alexander."

. . .

Nearly three days of . . . training later, Alec was casually strolling across the floor with Lucifer's sharp gaze following his every movement. He turned on his heel, letting the dark cloak swirl around him.

"You're improving quickly, little shadowhunter. You are already showing more grace than before," Lucifer commented, sounding terribly pleased with himself.

Alec barely resisted to say something rude under his breath. His feet were sore and his shoulder's were stiff from the lessons on proper "lordly walking". Honestly, what did the way he walk matter?

Suddenly, Lucifer was in front of him, looking gleeful. "I do believe it is time for the next stage of your training. How does walking on enchanted planks above shark pits while reading books on Hell's politics sound?"

Alec's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head, but Lucifer was already pulling him away. "No, Lucifer! NO! What part of no don't you understand?!"

Lucifer merely laughed, a delighted sound that echoed off the walls.

. . .

Alec dropped eagerly into a cushioned chair with a sigh of relief, stretching out his sore muscles. All of this training for proper walking and balance and flair was honestly more physically demanding than some of his shadowhunter training.

Lucifer easily lowered himself down into the chair across from Alec, observing him with amusement. "Do you want a pain relief potion?"

Alec debated saying no, but he eventually agreed. "Sure. I somehow doubt that you'd go easy on me because of my physical pain."

Lucifer grinned and tossed him a potion that hadn't been in his hands a minute ago. "Right in one. Surely the training hasn't been that bad."

Alec downed the potion, and gave Lucifer an incredulous look as his muscles stopped aching. "Not that bad? For the past week and a half, you've made me do everything from walking over pits of honest-to-the-Angel sharks, read while sparring with one hand for 'multitasking training', wake me up in the middle of the night to make me walk around doing handstands, and attempt to groom me to be charismatic in all situations. How is that 'not so bad'?"

Lucifer shrugged, having no regret. "We have a limited time frame. I need to cram in as much as I can, and if you can't even walk with deadly grace, then how are you going to wordlessly demand attention from the demons? You need to look and act the part, Alexander. Soon, you shall be tossed into the real shark pit when you are to announce to the Clave that you are the King of Hell. Your every move will be observed continuously. For perfection, you need practice. A lot of it."

Lucifer suddenly grinned. "We wouldn't want another incident like yesterday happening in front of hundreds, now would we?"

Alec felt the heat quickly rising to his face. He had been walking across the room, and rather gracelessly caught his foot onto the edge of a rug. It had resulted in him toppling forwards, a strangled noise coming from his mouth, and nearly hitting his head on a coffee table.

"Well, no," he said, looking down like a scolded child.

"Ah, ah," Lucifer tsked, tapping his chin back up. "Never look down when talking to anyone. It makes you look easy to walk over. I suppose that we shall start out lessons on body language when talking to others now."

Alec gulped. Talking to other people had never been his forte, but he now had determination. He though of all those oblivious mundanes he would be helping, he thought of the order that he could be bringing, he thought of the angels's and _God_ 's faith in him, and most of all, he thought of his family.

He didn't think that there was a limit to what he would do for his family.

. . .

"So why did the demons on your council look so . . . human? None of these books say anything about it."

Lucifer looked up from his book on food recipes with a startled look on his face. "Oh, I don't suppose that it would be. Generally the older and more powerful the demon, the more human-like they are. The first demons came from humans, after all."

Alec nodded, and tried to keep his eyes from straying to the recipe book in front of Lucifer. The thought of Satan reading recipe books like a stereotypical house wife was really too much. "You created them, didn't you?"

Lucifer frowned. "Well, sort of. I came up with the concept, and created the first few, but after I turned Lilith, she did most of it. I created the Princes, and some of the Greater Demons, but she decided that the demons should not look so human, and she started experimenting. I eventually stopped her, but most of the grotesque-looking ones were her creations. A majority of demons are more human-looking though. Why?"

Alec's head tilted to the side, a habit he had picked up from Lucifer. "So why are most of the demons I've had to deal with the nasty looking ones?"

Lucifer shrugged. "Whatever Lilith did to make them look like that made them more likely to hate humans. They've always been rather jealous of the other demons for looking so much . . . well, better."

"I never knew that," Alec said, glancing down at the book in his hands about the geography of Hell.

Lucifer followed his gaze. "Hm. After you finish that book, I'll get you some books on the early history of Hell. How is that book going for you?"

Alec fidgeted slightly in his seat. "Well, I actually had a question. Where, uh, exactly were you when Michael took you out of Hell?"

Rather than look horrified or angry at the brought up memories, Lucifer just looked slightly distasteful. "It's one of the central points of Hell. In some places, the different realms touch and make common ground. That was the crossing point between the darkest of the realms and the fire realm. For the first few eons I stayed there."

"Why did it look like it was the center of a volcano with ice and snow all around it?" he asked, remembering how beautiful he had always found it.

"Because that's exactly what it was. In that particular point, it didn't just connect the two demon realms, but it also allowed a way to see Earth. It's on a highly warded part of Antarctica. Without a fully powered angel, though, there is no way to get out there."

"Will I get to see it soon?"

Lucifer scowled slightly. "Probably not, thankfully. The God-forbidden place is under the control of the five rebelling realms."

Alec was slightly confused. "Why do you hate it so much?"

Lucifer frowned. "One cannot spend eons staring at the same things, drowning in despair and horror at ones own actions without hating the things they see every day. If I never see that part of Hell again, it will be too soon."

"Oh," he said, not really knowing how to react at that. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Nonsense," Lucifer said, looking back to his normal self. "Never apologize for seeking information. It is what we are here for, after all. I don't suppose you have any other questions?"

"Yes, actually," Alec responded, thinking it over. "Why haven't any of the books you've made me read mention all the souls condemned to Hell for eternal torment and all that?"

Lucifer looked startled. "Oh, did you want to know about that? Yes, I suppose that is important to know, given that you will be in charge of making sure their punishments are happening . . ." He shrugged, and snapped his fingers, causing nearly a hundred books to rain down from the ceiling. Alec felt genuine fear for himself at the amount of information he had to know just on the torture sections of Hell. He was never going to have free time again, was he?

"There you go," Lucifer said, sounding horribly pleased with himself. "For now though, it's high time you learn to properly sit."

Alec looked down at himself in confusion. "What's wrong with the way that I sit?"

Lucifer's nose wrinkled slightly in distaste. "You sit so . . . averagely. It just won't do. You are the King of Hell, not some mundane lackey. You need to sit with purpose and grace. Any chair you sit in should seem like a throne."

Alec barely resisted making a dumb noise, knowing that Lucifer would immediately scold him for sounding unintelligent. "And how does one achieve such an affect?"

Lucifer looked delighted, and Alec barely resisted the urge to lean back. If he had learned one thing in the past week and a half, it was that nothing good came with that particular look.

. . .

Alec had been peacefully sleeping, a content smile on his face, when there was suddenly a loud boom from downstairs. He woke up immediately, and quickly jumped up, landing lightly on his feet. He started to grab grabbed a seraph blade that was on his bedside table, but it was gone, and his eyes were wide as he silently made his way to his doorway.

There was a thud from the kitchen area, and a quick look into Lucifer's room told him that the fallen angel wasn't in there. With a wary look on his face, he made his way down the stairs, every muscle in his body tensed, and he wished he had a seraph blade or his bow. Where was Lucifer?

When he carefully made his way into the kitchen, it was empty, and his heartbeat was thudding loudly in his ears. What could be in a dimension that God had set up?

There was a slight creak from behind him, and he whirled around, but there was nothing there. His eyes darted around, and he could tell that someone was watching, but he couldn't see anyone.

Suddenly, there were strong arms around him from behind, and when he struggled to get loose, he realized that whoever it was had incredible strength. He swore if this was a stupid "training exercise" by Lucifer, he was going to destroy Lucifer – completely wipe the devil from existance.

"Now, now, boy, stop struggling, and I might let you live," a hoarse voice said, and there was a wheezing laugh. "Unlike that silly angel that was here."

Alec felt lightheaded as he processed the man's words. Was Lucifer dead? But . . . no, surely not.

Somehow, his voice was strong and confident when he said, "You lie."

The wheezing laugh was back. "Oh, do I? You should have heard his confusion. He thought he was safe in this little realm set up by God. Did you know that angels blow up when they die? It was most informative."

Alec felt himself panicking, and he was unable to escape the vice-like grip around him. He felt something rising up in his chest. It felt . . . untamed and powerful. Dangerous.

A blade ghosted over his throat, drawing blood. Alec felt a wave of pure power rush over him as he thought of how he wanted the man to get off him, and he followed his instincts blindly, barely flicking his hand backwards. To his shock, the man was ripped viciously off him.

He turned, expecting someone to have just ripped his attacker off him, but there was no one else there. His attacker, a ratty looking old man with bull horns, started to lunge back at him, and he quickly made a vague movement to the side with his hand.

The man's body flew through the air harshly and hit a wall with a sickening _crunch_. The man did not get up again.

Alec stumbled, feeling a wave of exhaustion. He didn't think that he had ever been so tired in his entire life. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed into a heap on the floor.

. . .

"Wake up!"

Alec groaned. His head felt like someone had smashed a hammer into it. He slowly opened his eyes with great effort, and met dark eyes that belonged to a darkly skinned man that radiated extreme power.

He scrambled away. "Who are you?!"

The man held up his hands in a complacent gesture, and his eyes softened. "Easy, Alexander. I am Raphael."

Alec reared his head back. "Wait, Raphael the archangel?"

Raphael's lips twitched in amusement. "Yes. Now get up. Lucifer needs to talk with you."

Alec suddenly remembered the old man's claims of Lucifer being dead as he stood up. "Is he okay?!"

"Yes, my brother is fine. Those demons last night had somehow gotten a very powerful artifact that disappeared from Heaven's armory centuries ago. It restricts an angel's powers when in radius. He managed to grab it, and tried to leave the realm to go to Heaven and retrieve back up."

Raphael's eyes sparkled in amusement as he continued. "It made a rather dramatic explosion here when he tried to fly off, but he managed. He showed up in God's throne room covered in ash, managed to tell us what had happened, and nearly passed out from the exhaustion from his flight with the power limiting artifact."

Raphael started to lead him outside, and the healer angel said, "When I showed up with Michael, Gabriel, and Raziel, we were expecting to have a fight, but about a dozen demons were killed by the explosion Lucifer caused, and the leader was dead about a dozen feet from you. At first I though you might be dead as well, but you're not."

He felt sick to his stomach as he realized that he had killed his first demon. As they stepped of the porch, Alec's eyes were drawn to the huge crater in the clearing that had scorch marks all around it. There was no question as to where that explosion had come from.

"Alec!" he heard, and suddenly he was drawn close to Lucifer. The fallen angel's eyes quickly ran over him, and whatever he observed made him look relieved. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"Me too," Alec said, trying to step away from Lucifer, but the devil was having none of that. "Actually, something really weird happened."

"What happened?" Raphael and Lucifer questioned at the same time.

Alec struggled to find a way to explain it. "The demon had a knife against my throat and I thought about how much I wanted it off. Then I felt a wave of . . . power, I guess, and the next thing I knew I flicked my hand back and it was ripped off me. Then when it lunged at me, I moved my hand to the side, and it hit the wall with enough force to kill it. It was . . ."

When he just shook his head, mind reeling at how creepily calm he felt about his first kill, Lucifer looked thoughtful. "Why were you out cold on the floor?"

"I felt more exhausted than I've ever felt in my life," he responded, and he felt uncomfortable under Raphael and Lucifer's stares. The two angels exchanged looks.

"May I try something?" Raphael asked, stepping forward slightly.

"Uh, sure," Alec said.

Raphael pressed two of his fingers over Alec's heart and he started intensely into his eyes. Alec's skin started to tingle strangely under Rapheal's fingers, as if there was static all over him.

Raphael's eyebrows shot up, and he stepped back, looking at Lucifer with an unreadable look. He looked slightly amused as he announced, sounding like a football announcer: "Congratulations, you've just discovered a new power. It seems fitting that the King of Hell have some form of telekinesis."

"What?" Alec asked, and he wondered how often he would wind up saying that in the future.

"You appear to be able to control things with your mind. It almost feels like a form of warlock magic, but it is much more specialized and powerful. It looks like, with practice, you will be able to move people and heavy objects around with the ease of picking up a satin handkerchief."

Alec's eyes widened, but he was unable to say anything.

Lucifer quickly spoke. "Why was his energy drained so much? Is his power just that weak right now?"

Raphael shook his head. "No, it appears that the extreme exhaustion came from breaking the . . . seal, I suppose you could call it, on the ability. It's rather like there was a cement wall surrounding the ability, and the adrenaline and panic busted through the wall so he could get to it, but most of his energy was used breaking the wall."

Lucifer nodded slowly, and then he turned to Alec with a grin. "You know what this means? As soon as we get to a different and safer realm, you have more training."

Alec groaned.

. . .

"Now this is more like it," Lucifer said, proving that sprawling out on a couch could look graceful. The room they were in belonged to an exact replica of Lucifer's – er, Alec's – mansion. They weren't in Hell, but it looked like they were, minus the great view.

"How do we know that another rogue demons won't get in here?"

Lucifer waved a hand easily. "Not to worry, I talked to Father while you were unconscious. The other demon got in because he didn't put up any real security measures since it was supposed to be so hard to find, and he wanted us to be able to enter and leave easily if we needed to. This time, the realm is hidden better and has security measures. I've already tested it; we'll be fine this time, although it will be harder to travel from."

"Okay . . ." Alec said, deciding that he was go back to sleeping with a seraph blade under his pillow like he did in the human realm.

Lucifer looked at him in amusement. "Raphy tested it too before he left. This time nothing will happen."

They sat in in comfortable silence for a while, Alec wondering how Lucifer managed to get away with that nickname, before Lucifer suddenly jumped up in excitement, his eyes lit up. "Since we have exact replicas of everything I was saving for when we went to Hell for a couple of days before going to Earth, we can go ahead and do a few more things while we're here!"

Alec felt wary. "Great."

Lucifer quickly went upstairs, and Alec followed him slowly. When he arrived back into the room he had initially woken up in after his kidnapping, Lucifer was rummaging through what looked to be the closet that was larger than his bedroom at the institute.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked, looking into the closet with no small amount of dread.

"Trying to find a cloak I found in the eighteenth century for you." He suddenly lit up. "Aha. There it is! Put it on."

Alec frowned, but put on the pitch black cloak without complaint. Once it was on and he caught a glimpse of himself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the far wall of the closet, his eyes widened. The cloak had a strange effect that made it seem to pull the light out of everything around it. It gave it an eerie look and made it seem like there were shadows encasing him.

"Woah," he said, and he did a little flourish so that the cloak would swirl slightly. "This is awesome."

Lucifer looked smug. "I rather thought so. Oh, and I almost forgot!"

Alec watched as he opened a drawer, feeling much less weary now that he was glancing through the clothes the closet was full of. Most of it was things that he wouldn't mind wearing, even if it all seemed to be regal clothing and no normal sweaters.

Suddenly something was being crammed onto his head, and Lucifer made a pleased noise. "There you go. Now you look like a proper King of Hell."

Alec's eyes widened when the focused on his reflection. There was a crown sitting innocently on his dark hair, a silver and sapphire thing that looked incredibly expensive. Between the crown, shadowy cloak, and the clothes that Lucifer had demanded he wear that day, he looked . . .

Well, he really did look like a proper King of Hell. For the first time in a long time, he thought that he actually looked pretty good, all things considered.

Something occurred to him. "Won't it fall off really easily?"

Lucifer eagerly shook his head. "No, I had the same enchantments put on it as my old ones. The only way that is coming off is if you take it off yourself."

"Oh, okay," Alec said, and he started to reach up to take the crown off.

"No, no, no," Lucifer scolded, keeping him from taking it off. "You need to get used to wearing it."

Alec complied, trying to ignore how glad he was at being able to keep it on. There was just something confidence-boosting about wearing a crown, and it made his kingship feel more real. "When all will I need to wear a crown?"

"More often than you might think," Lucifer replied. "Any time you're in a battle, or around those that need to know your status. You will need to wear it whenever you travel into Heaven."

Alec's eyes bulged. " _Travel into Heaven_?!"

Lucifer looked amused. "Of course. You shall have a standing invitation there to keep up good relations between Heaven and Hell."

"Okay . . ." Alec said, not even able to wrap his mind around that concept. Travel to Heaven without being dead? He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "What do we need to do now?"

Lucifer tilted his head, fingers smoothly tapping against his chin. "Now, I suppose that I shall give you the full tour of your new house. Come."

With the command, the fallen angel easily turned to walk out of the door, Alec scrambling slightly to keep up, while attempting to put the natural-looking grace that Lucifer had been trying to teach him into his walk.

The house – mansion – whatever, was incredibly large. There was one huge kitchen; two dining rooms, one formal and one casual; three entertainment rooms, one of which was _fireproof_ for some reason; twenty-three bedrooms, for "emergencies"; a bathroom connected to every bedroom; a swimming pool and sauna; more hidden passages than he could count; and a drool-worthy weapons room.

They were currently standing in the weapons room that was nearly twenty times the size of the one in the institute. Alec, having been fond of weapons from a young age, was more than a little blown away. There was an entire section dedicated to bows! A wall covered in every type of melee weapon imaginable! One wall was covered in mundane firearms and explosives and who knows what else! One area seemed to be made up entirely of weapons that didn't look like weapons – spy weapons.

And oddly enough, there seemed to be an entire area dedicated to odd objects, each with their own plaque. It looked like a huge area for trophies. One place seemed to be missing its object, and Alec read the plaque for it.

"Wait . . ." he said, drawing out the word. "A fiddle made of gold? And it's missing? I thought that was just a song!"

Lucifer got a wicked look in his eyes, and a mischievous smirk curled on his lips. "Well, technically it is, but it was just so amusing . . . Surely you understand that I just had to have this here?"

Alec snorted. "I really and truly don't understand you, Luce."

Lucifer stiffened in surprise at the nickname, and Alec wondered if he'd pushed too far, but the fallen angel just started grinning like a child on Christmas. "What would be the fun in understanding me? Then it'd just be boring."

Alec decided to not deem that with a response.

. . .

Alec made a strangled noise as he flopped in a highly over dramatic way onto his bed, hair wet from his shower. His bed felt softer than ever, and he lightly nuzzled his cheek into the comforter, sighing in relief. He was exhausted and every muscle in his body was aching. His temples were also pulsating with an intense headache that was quickly crossing into migraine territory.

There was an amused huff from the doorway. "You seem to be picking up on my melodramatics, at the very least. Surely it isn't that bad."

Alec grumbled into the blankets, and raised his head so as to be understood. "I have done nothing but train, eat, read, practice telekinesis or whatever it's called, work on my mannerisms, and get mock 'political' situations that you throw at me to train me. I have never been so exhausted in my entire life."

Lucifer made another amused noise, and suddenly he was perched on the end of Alec's bed. "If you believe that this is bad, little shadowhunter, then you have many difficult times ahead, indeed. Soon, you shall beg and pray that you can come back to these days of restfulness."

Alec made a strangled noise and flopped over, an arm going over his eyes. "Just let me sleep, would you?"

The weight on the bed shifted as Lucifer smoothly rose to his feet. "Very well. I shall retrieve you tomorrow morning at exactly seven o'clock, so be ready. We have but a few days until we need to go to the real Hell and prepare for your return to the human world. My council has informed me that things are escalating rather quickly there."

Alec quickly lifted his head. "What do you mean? Is my family all right?!"

"Sleep, little shadowhunter," Lucifer chided, snapping his fingers to turn the lights out. His silhouette was outlined in the eerie blue light reflecting from the snow and sky outside. "Your family is fine for now, and so long as you do your job correctly, they will continue to be fine."

Alec felt like saying something scathing, but his eyelids felt heavy, and he easily fell into the comforting arms of sleep, sprawled out over the covers in black satin pajamas.

. . .

"We must leave now," Lucifer said, quickly coming into the room with a look of slightly rushed panic in his eyes.

"What's wrong?!" Alec demanded, quickly jumping up from where he had been sitting.

Lucifer was quickly grabbing things from Alec's closet. "There will be a fight between Valentine and your siblings within the next few days. We must be there to do damage control."

When Lucifer started tossing clothes at Alec, he took a hint and started changing. "How do you know?"

Lucifer tossed Alec's crown onto the bed in front of the shadowhunter, and continued to hunt through his things. "I have trusted demons keeping an eye on anything and everything useful that is happening anywhere in the world, but especially within New York City."

Alec accepted that easily enough, and he quickly put his crown and the shadow-absorbing cloak on. "If we have a few days, why are we rushing so much?"

Lucifer finally came out of the closet and was, interestingly enough, wearing a plain light gold crown. "We have a few things to do in Hell before we can go, and the time runs normally there."

When Lucifer was suddenly handing over a heavy duffel bag full to the brim with weapons, he easily accepted it. "Is this all we need? Clothes and weapons?"

Lucifer quickly scanned the room to make sure and nodded. "Yes, we can retrieve anything else later. We need to go ahead and leave."

With a wave of Lucifer's hand, there was a portal in front of the two. Rather than the bright white light of the portal to dimension God had made, this one was a dark misty blue. Alec stepped through it, trusting that Lucifer had created the portal correctly.

On the other side of the portal was Asmodeus and a female demon that Alec vaguely remembered from the meeting with Lucifer's council. He wondered what they were doing there.

"My lord," they both said, easily dipping their heads in a small bow.

Lucifer, having stepped through the portal, easily said, "Asmodeus, Esmeralda, has something happened?"

Esmeralda, light green eyes determined, stepped forward. Her long platinum blond hair was pulled back, and her incredibly pale skin nearly glowed in the lighting. "Not that we're aware of, my lord, but Asmodeus and I request permission to return with you and the little lord to help."

Alec felt slightly miffed that she spoke like he wasn't there, but he decided it wasn't that important. He would address it later if it became a problem.

Lucifer hummed thoughtfully. "Permission granted. What of your realms though? Asmodeus, wasn't there problems with flooding in the land of spring? And Esmeralda, what of the twilight forest? Was your clan not having troubles with some other magic users?"

Asmodeus quickly said, "The floods have been taken care of, and my second is able to cover my absence."

Lucifer inclined his head in recognition and looked at Esmeralda, who answered, "The rogues have been taken care of, and Liliana is more than capable of looking over the forests in my stead."

Lucifer nodded. "Everything appears to be in order then. Hm, are you two ready now?"

They nodded, and Lucifer looked considering. He finally ordered: "Go to Manhattan and get a pent-suite in a centralized location. Make sure there is room enough for all four of us."

"Am I not staying with my family?" Alec asked, confusion clear in his tone. Surely he would be able to stay with his family for a while before anything major happened.

Lucifer shook his head. "That would be unwise. You are about to announce your kingship to the Clave. You will probably not even be allowed in the institute soon. Technically."

Alec felt a bone-deep dread, but he had already expected as much. "What do you mean 'technically'?"

Lucifer got a mischievous look on his face, eyes glinting. "My brother is rather fond of you. Surely you don't think the Clave can go against the wishes of their sponsoring angel?"

"Lord Raziel would grant me access?" Alec asked, more than a little flabbergasted.

Lucifer looked amused, as did the two demons. "Of course, little shadowhunter. Now, we must quickly retrieve the last things we need. Asmodeus, Esmeralda, you are dismissed."

After making the two powerful demons a portal to go through to complete their assigned task, Lucifer led Alec towards the front door of the house.

Alec followed him outside, expecting the cold to hit him. When the cold only bit at his face, he looked down at his clothes in confusion.

Lucifer, not slowing down once as he walked across the snow, noticed his look with a knowing smile. "The clothes you're wearing are custom made battle clothes. They adjust with the temperature, are nearly impenetrable, and are slightly magic resistant."

Alec stared at tight black body suit with new understanding. "What is it made of?"

"A mixture of some silk from a type of demons in Esmeralda's realm and metal found in the cavern realm."

Alec was more than a little impressed, and they finally came to a stop in front of what looked like stables. Lucifer pulled open one huge door, quickly stepping in.

Alec followed him inside and froze with wide eyes. Rather than a workshop, or weapons, or even normal horses, there was a rather intimidating sight. In each of the stable stalls was a huge black horse, each slightly larger than a Clydesdale. Instead of a normal mane and tail, they had shadows fog in the rough estimation of hair. Much like his cloak, they seemed to radiate darkness, and cancel out light. All of the horses's eyes were different colors.

Lucifer was standing in front of one with bright gold eyes, and was petting its neck. He turned to Alec with a prideful look. "This is my horse Aster."

Lucifer turned towards the horse in the stall next to Aster. The horse's eyes looked eerily close to Alec's. "And this, little shadowhunter, is Tenebris – your horse."

"What? Why do we need horses?"

Lucifer grinned, flashing his bright teeth. "Intimidation and dramatics. You wouldn't believe the fear and awe when you ride in on one of these horses. They have incredibly strong hide and are nearly impossible to kill, on top of having extreme stamina to let them run for very large periods of time."

Alec's eyebrows rose on his forehead. It really did figure that Lucifer would want to be dramatic going anywhere, and he was sure that those horses did invoke quite the reaction. "What is the breed called?"

Lucifer shrugged. "They don't really have a name, but most call them Abyssal Guardians, since they normally guard the abyss realm. It is, thankfully, still on our side, and the leader of that realm gifted me all of these horses a few thousand years ago."

Lucifer seemed to remember something, and added: "Also, as another intimidation tactic, they can leave dark shadows where ever they step. The shadows can't be removed and they can last for weeks."

"That doesn't sound good for stealth."

Lucifer looked amused. "They can control it. So long as you tell them not to, they won't."

Alec gave the horses a suspicious look as they neighed in what sounded like laughter. "How smart are they?"

"Oh, you know, about as smart as the average human," Lucifer responded, eyes gleaming with amusement.

"What?" Alec asked, staring at the horses with wide eyes. He though about it. "Can they talk?"

Lucifer scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous – they're horses."

"Then how do they communicate?" Alec asked.

"Telepathically, of course."

"Of course," Alec responded, his words practically dripping with sarcasm. Honestly, telepathic demon horses. What was next?

The horses neighed in laughter.

. . .

It was several hours later when they rode – yes, rode – out of the portal with their Abyssal Guardian horses. There were no mundanes to worry about, thankfully, and he wondered how they were going to put the horses once this "battle" was over.

Alec hadn't ridden a horse in years, but he was getting the hang of it pretty quickly. The fact that Tenebris took verbal directions helped a lot. The horse had yet to talk to him telepathically, but Lucifer told him that the Guardian would get around to it eventually. He took his word for it.

"Where exactly are we?" Alec asked as he looked around. It was dark outside, and the road were on was made of a mixture of dirt and gravel. With Tenebris's every step, there was a crunch noise from the road.

"Outside of Valentine's current hideout, where he supposedly had Jocelyn Fairchild. The battle should take place there, but we need to get there first, if we can."

They had only been riding for a further five minutes when the sound of howling, snarling, and yelling came from a few miles ahead of them. Alec stiffened, and his fingers strayed to his bow strapped across his back.

Lucifer frowned. "We are definitely late to the battle. Well, I never was one to turn down a fashionably late entrance." He turned to Alec. "When we get there, use your bow when you can, but don't hesitate to use your telekinesis. Your abilities are strong enough for a short battle."

Alec quickly nodded, eyes straying back to the direction of the fight.

Lucifer patted Aster, and said, "C'mon, boy. Let's go make a good first impression."

With that, the two of them urged their horses to run. Tenebris and Aster ran quickly, their hooves causing a rhythmic _clip-clop, clip-clop_ noise. Their cloaks flapped behind them like bat wings as they approached a castle-looking building.

 _Well, here_ _g_ _oes nothing,_ Alec thought with a grim smile, preparing to dive into the battle.


	5. The Start of a Most Chaotic Week

_**A/N: So I've redone this chapter. Yay. It should be a lot better now. In other news, the traffic graph seems to be messed up. At first I just though I wasn't getting any views, but then I got a review on a day that the graph was claiming no one had viewed the story, so something must be up. Hopefully it'll get fixed soon.**_

 _ **I'm about to go visit family for a few days, so I don't know when I'll post the next chapter, but it'll be within a week, but after that it'll go back to every other week.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: If I owned the Mortal Instruments then a lot of stuff would have been a lot differently * cough, those unspeakable pages, cough ***_

 _ **Songs Listened to While Writing:**_

 _ **How Bad Can I Be (The Lorax),**_

 _ **Renegades (X Ambassadors),**_

 _ **Devils (Say Hi)**_

 **~The Start of a Most Chaotic Week~**

The air seemed to have a permanent chill in the air, and Alec felt himself shudder slightly. His hair was standing on end, and he glanced to Lucifer to see if the fallen angel had noticed. Lucifer seemed calm.

Alec warily glanced around himself, and he hated the fact that there were so many shadows that creatures could be hiding in. He had always liked the dark, but now . . . there was something ominous about the shadows.

They were quickly approaching the snarling and shouting of the raging battle when he saw a darkly shadowed being darting into the air, dark mist trailing after it. His eyes widened and his breath caught.

" _What_ is _that_?!" Alec demanded, nudging Tenebris closer to Lucifer.

Lucifer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he hummed when he saw two more shadowy beings fly out of sight. "Oh, those are reapers. Nothing to worry about, I assure you."

Alec's eyebrows rose incredulously. " _Reapers_?! And you don't want me to worry?!"

Lucifer's lips twitched, and he gave the shadowhunter a side-long look. "They are just doing their jobs. They are agents of Death, and they transfer souls to the appropriate locations after they depart from this world. I'm sure you will meet one eventually. Most of them have an interesting sense of humor."

Alec opened his mouth to reply, shook his head, and closed his mouth. You'd think he would get used to things like this, but apparently not.

Before he could decide to say anything, Lucifer slowed Aster. The fallen angel's glowing eyes glanced at him and a smirk curled on his lips. "Are you ready, Alec?"

Alec swallowed and nodded, and it was not lost on him that the fallen angel had used his preferred name. The sounds of the battle were incredibly loud and he took a deep breath, fingers wrapping securely around his bow.

Lucifer led him up the small hill and when they got to the top, Alec's breath caught. The area was bathed in shadows, but he could see the ghastly pale skin of dozens of Forsaken, the glowing amber eyes and glinting fangs of werewolves, and the dark blood staining the ground. Here and there, reapers were flying around.

"Want to see what happens when an angel smites something?" Lucifer asked him. Without waiting for a reply, he raised a hand to the nearest Forsaken. In a blinding and deafening strike, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.

 _BOOM!_

Alec's eyes were impossibly wide, and he could feel electricity running through his veins, causing his skin to tingle. Lucifer looked awfully smug when the clearing descended into dead silence, a hundred shocked gazes locking on him.

A smirk was on his lips when he said, "Oh, don't stop the battle for my sake. Do go on."

There was a pause and many exchanged looks, but eventually everyone did exactly that. The snarls and yells were once again in full swing, and Alec gave a Lucifer an incredulous look. "There was zero reason for that, I hope you know."

Lucifer shrugged and drew a gleaming sword. It was shining similarly to seraph blades, but his was the same color of the sun – blinding and golden. The fallen angel easily leapt off Aster and gestured for Alec to join him.

Alec swung off Tenebris in a much less graceful move than Lucifer and watched as the two horses started circling around to the other side of the clearing, shadowy hoof prints burning into the ground behind them.

Alec followed Lucifer into the battle, knocking an arrow as Lucifer easily swung his sword, occasionally using some type of angel-telekinesis thing to destroy his enemies.

"What are the horses doing?" Alec half-asked half-yelled to him, taking down a Forsaken that had been sneaking up on a werewolf.

Lucifer launched himself over a Forsaken, cutting through it on the way, and landed on another with a dagger in his hand, driving it into its chest. He looked victorious when he replied, "They're keeping a perimeter. They'll herd the creatures to us."

"Great," Alec huffed, firing off three arrows quickly taking out the three Forsaken that had been getting too close for his comfort.

Lucifer whirled in between four Forsaken, cloak swirling, and easily killed them all with one quick spin. He had a predatory grin on his face when the creatures fell and he certainly looked evil with the dark blood splattered on his face and shirt.

Alec was definitely not at Lucifer's level in the 'whirlwind of destruction' department, but he was still doing well. He had already been a pretty good hunter, but with Lucifer's tutelage, he was infinitely better, especially when he started nudging his arrows telekinetically when Forsaken started side-stepping.

Alec caught sight of a werewolf that seemed to be losing in its fight, but before he could fire an arrow, Lucifer had already launched himself _over_ the werewolf, landing with his legs wrapped around the Forsaken's chest and his sword coming down in a downward arch of vengeful light.

Alec's eyebrows rose. Lucifer hadn't had time to teach him anything like _that_ in their training.

With their horses – or Guardians of the Abyss or whatever – herding the creatures in, it was starting to get more difficult to just use a bow, so Alec swung it back onto his back and drew a gleaming seraph blade. He had just glanced at Lucifer when the fallen angel caught his eye, moved his fingers in an over exaggerated way, and tilted his head.

Alec figured he was trying to tell him to use his powers now, so he nodded once. He easily enough took out three Forsaken, but a fourth one almost snuck up on him. He turned just as it had raised a spiked club to hit him. His eyes widened and he quickly moved his hand to the right, sending the club sailing across the clearing.

Both he and the shocked Forsaken watched the club's path, and it thankfully managed to take down another Forsaken. With a grin, Alec quickly took out the now-clubless creature.

The numbers of Forsaken were finally dwindling when there was a shout from one of the entrances of the grounds, and Lucifer was by his side again in a heartbeat. They both distractedly fought off the Forsaken that tried to attack them, but most of the creatures had barreled off in the direction of the shout.

The duo watched as darkly-clothed figures suddenly poured into the clearing, quickly killing the creatures that got into their path.

"The shadowhunters have arrived, then," Lucifer observed, a pleased expression on his face.

Alec hummed in agreement, watching with alert eyes. The amount of reapers sweeping in and out had slowed as well. As if reading his mind, one of the reapers, a girl with chalk-white skin, dark hair, and solid white eyes caught his eye with a mysterious smile and a slight nod of recognition.

He nodded back, unsure of what else to do. She latched her hands into a Forsaken's chest and pulled out a ball of light – a soul, he realized with slight horror – and she swept into the sky in a whirlwind of darkness.

He turned his attention back to the shadowhunters, looking for familiar faces, and he could tell that he was slightly pale.

"Lucifer," he murmured urgently, eyes caught on two incredibly familiar figures. "My sister and mom are here. I wonder why she isn't in Idris."

Lucifer got a mischievous look on his face, and Alec was just thankful that he had wiped the blood off his skin. "Good. Be ready to shake the foundations of the world, Alexander."

Alec wasn't sure how to be ready for something like that, but he did notice that their horses were no where to be seen.

Lucifer watched unblinkingly as the fight came to a stop, his entire stance practically shouting elegant and confident. Alec tried to incorporate some of his lessons into his own stance, but he could only do so much.

Lucifer had an amused smirk on his lips when the clearing descended into silence and the werewolves and shadowhunters turned their attention to the two unknowns, weapons in hand and wary looks crossing their faces.

There was a pause, then one of the male shadowhunters stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak, but Lucifer cut him off by raising his hand in a casual gesture. The man closed his mouth.

The smirk was still tugging on his lips when he spoke, "Now that we have your attention, we have an important announcement to make."

Alec was barely paying attention to him, keeping his eyes glued to the only members of his family currently there. His mother just looked confused and indignant, but Isabelle was starring right back at him with a frown on her red lips.

Just as she seemed to have dawning understanding on her face, Lucifer smoothly continued. "This," he said, gesturing at Alec, who shifted uncomfortably, "is one Alexander Lightwood."

Before anyone could do more than make a confused noise, he said, "To sooth any concerns, let me assure you that he has been safe and staying with me. He had been learning of his new responsibilities."

He paused for a theatrical moment. "Oh, how rude of me. I completely forgot to introduce myself." As if. "My name is Lucifer, leader of fallen angels, father of lies, morning star, and prince of pride. You are probably more familiar with me as the serpent, dragon, devil, and Satan. You may refer to me as Lucifer."

Here he smirked and he gestured to Alec with presenting arms. "And this," he spoke, once again pausing for an affect, "is Lord Alexander, King of Hell."

There was a look of horror in everyone's eyes and Lucifer got a predatory smile on his face. Lightning once again struck through the sky, and the fallen angel let his eyes flash with bright ethereal light and he revealed the silhouette of his intimidating wings.

He easily wrapped a hand around Alec's shoulder, and in the next moment his wings, still revealed, rose to their full length preparing for take-off. Before Alec was able to fully process the situation, he was standing miles away in an alley, stumbling as he tried to regain his balance.

He braced himself on a wall and he met the mischievous eyes of the fallen angel. "That was not the way to make people like you. Even _I_ know that."

Lucifer waved a dismissive hand. "I proved who I was, told them who you are, and announced our presence in this world. I met my goal for the night."

Alec shook his head, wondering why every blond in his life was crazy. He pushed himself upright, and he wiped a hand across his face, grimacing when a mixture of dark blood and sweat came away with it.

He looked around the alley. "Where are we, anyway?"

Lucifer tossed him a wet rag to get the blood off his face. "A couple of blocks away from the place we're going to be staying for the foreseeable future, or at least until we can find a better head quarters. Asmodeus and Esmeralda assured me that we will take it to our liking."

Alec nodded and started to take out his stele, but Lucifer plucked it from his fingers, shaking his head. "We're not going in invisible."

Alec looked at the fallen angel with an incredulous expression. "How? We're covered in blood, have weapons all over us, and we're wearing clothes that look like they belong in one of Max's comic books!"

Lucifer looked amused. "We've both gotten all of the obvious blood off ourselves and we can put our weapons in this," he claimed, pulling a small bag out of his boot. When Alec looked at him like he was a special kind of stupid, the blond rolled his eyes. "It's bigger on the inside. A gift from Gabriel in the fifteenth century."

"Okay," Alec said, handing over his weapons, watching with no small amount of astonishment as everything easily went into the tiny bag. Something occurred to him when he was handing over his bow and quiver. "Hey, why didn't I run out of arrows during the battle?"

Lucifer blinked. "Did I not tell you that I got an enchantress to enchant that quiver?" At Alec's blank look, he shrugged. "I have it set up to a huge collection of arrows in the weapon room in your house in Hell. I severely doubt you'll run out of arrows for decades, and that's if you never retrieve them."

"Oh," he said, and then he glanced down at his tight one-piece suit. He pulled the black material away from his chest and frowned when it easily snapped back into place. It was good for protection, sure, but it still looked pretty stupid. "And what about the clothes?"

Lucifer looked sheepish. "There's not much I can do about that. I don't have any other clothes on me. This would be a good time to let you see me use a glamour and see if you can mimic it, though."

Alec chose not to respond to that, not sure that he could keep himself from saying something rude. He followed the fallen angel out of the alley and he felt incredibly uncomfortable when a man that had been walking by did a double-take.

You know you're out of place when even New Yorkers look at you strangely.

Lucifer suddenly snapped. "I forgot our crowns!"

Alec's eyes widened, and his hands quickly went to his hair. He quickly snatched the crown off his head, and all but tossed it at Lucifer. The fallen angel quickly put both of their crowns away.

"Now," Lucifer said. "Watch me closely and see if you can see the magic work when I do this glamour. Maybe you can do it, too."

Alec glanced around them at the people giving them strange looks. "Is this really the best time and place for learning this?"

Lucifer looked insulted. "There is never a wrong time or place."

Lucifer raised his hand and very slowly twisted his finger, deliberately over-exaggerating the movements. Alec realized with shock that he could see little gold strands of light coming off his finger-tips and slowly surrounding himself.

When he was completely covered in the little lights, he lowered his hand, and the lights went invisible, and Alec fought to keep his eyes from sliding away from him. The glamour obviously worked. Lucifer looked at Alec with an expectant expression.

"Um," Alec said. "I can try."

He raised his hand, trying to copy Lucifer's movements. He tried to imagine that the same lights that Lucifer had created were coming off his fingers, and he imagined the lights wrapping around him, protecting him from people's notice. His eyes slipped closed of their own accord.

He let out a quiet gasp as he felt a sudden drain of energy, and his eyes snapped open. He was covered in deep blue and silver lights, he realized with shock. The lights pulsed once, then faded. He looked at Lucifer with wide eyes.

The fallen angel looked surprised, one of his eyebrows raised, but he quickly grinned. "Nicely done. I honestly didn't think you would be able to do anything but telekinesis. Hm . . . this opens whole new possibilities."

Alec felt bone-deep exhaustion and he stumbled slightly. "That's great and all, but I really, _really_ need to go to sleep, Luce."

"Of course, of course," Lucifer said, herding him towards a huge, extravagant building. He kept a hand on Alec's arm, making sure that he wasn't going to collapse.

When they walked into the building, the only person there was a woman behind the welcome desk, and her eyes easily slid off them. Alec glanced around the room, and whoa was this a nice place. And obviously very, very expensive.

He fought off a yawn as Lucifer lead him to an elevator. Rather than press a number, Lucifer slid a key into a key-slot, and the elevator started to make its way up. He gave Lucifer a confused look.

The fallen angel noticed his look. "It takes us to the top floor penthouse. There's two on each of the top two floors. Putting this key into the first elevator on the right takes us to ours."

"Oh," Alec said.

When the elevator finally stopped and opened, Alec's eyes widened. There was a richly decorated entrance room in front of him, complete with two lavish couches and floor-to-ceiling windows. The view was probably of Central Park, but with the light on all he saw was his and Lucifer's reflections.

He winced slightly when he saw how exhausted and filthy he looked. With a quick look to the light carpet, he quickly pulled off his boots, noticing that Lucifer was doing the same.

A yawn forced its way out of his throat, and Lucifer laughed. "Come, little shadowhunter, let's find you a bedroom."

Alec allowed himself to be led to the right, catching a brief glimpse of a massive round table and kitchen. They walked through a huge hallway full of doors, and Lucifer paused at the very end of the hallway in front of two doors.

"Pick whichever one you desire, and I shall take the other," Lucifer told him.

Alec nodded and half-walked half-stumbled to the right door. He paused with his hand on the door knob. "Hey, what happened to the horses?"

"Do not worry for them. I plan to convert one of the rooms here into a mock-stable for them. It should be easy enough."

Alec just nodded, having no energy to even attempt to comprehend that statement. He entered the room, closing the door behind him. The room in front of him was huge and tastefully decorated.

The bed look so, _so_ comfortable, and he wanted nothing more than sleep, but he desperately needed a shower first. It was almost painful to drag himself to the shower, but it was obvious how necessary it had been when the water turned dark red with blood.

When he left the bathroom, there was a pair of pajamas on his bed and he eagerly changed into them, and jumped into the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

. . .

A bright light woke Alec up, and he groaned, burying his head under a pillow. He spent the next ten minutes trying to go back to sleep in vain. He grumbled as he crawled out of bed, noticing with a grimace that it was the sun shining in through some floor-to-ceiling windows that had woken him up.

He remade the bed, and decided to explore his new room. The bathroom was fully stocked with all the bathroom necessities, and there was a ridiculously large walk-in closet. He realized that the closet was full of his clothes, and they seemed to be organized by when to wear them. He grimaced when he saw no casual clothes.

He dug through the drawers, and found – hallelujah! – some exercise clothes. He was reaching to pull them out to wear when he saw a note. He warily picked it up to read it. It said:

 _Do not even think about it, Alexander. Exercise clothes are for exercise, not everyday wear._

 _Put on something nicer that I got you._

The note was unsigned, but there was only one person that would write that. He sulked a bit as he tugged on "nicer" clothes. Was it too much to ask for to be comfortable? Lucifer was obviously a member of fashion police.

He had stopped sulking by the time that he left his room and went to the dining room area that he had briefly seen the night before. Currently, Lucifer, Asmodeus, and Esmeralda were all hunched over various documents and papers on the round table.

Esmeralda looked us with distracted green eyes, platinum blond hair falling from its bun. "Breakfast's in the kitchen."

Alec nodded, but she had already looked back down at the papers spread out in front of her. His eyebrows rose, but he made his way to the kitchen to get some pancakes that were sitting on a huge island.

He sat silently beside Lucifer, listening to the occasional rustling of paper. He ate quickly, and the second he was done, he leaned closer to Lucifer, trying to read what the fallen angel was holding. "What's going on?"

Lucifer looked slightly startled as he looked up. A smirk danced over his lips. "Every major government in the downworld, including the Clave, had emergency meetings last night. We've been going through the reports."

"Reports?" Alec repeated, confusion evident in his voice. "You have people in the governments reporting to you?"

"If there's an important government out there, we have people in it," Lucifer confirmed, pride evident in his voice. Alec didn't miss the fact that he said _we_. "I've had centuries to set up a good system."

"The Clave is most unpleased," Asmodeus said, looking up from his bundle of papers. "They are trying to figure out how to . . . remove you, my lords."

"Most of the creature councils are trying to find more proof," Esmeralda said, "but they are all trying to find ways to appease you, my lords, on the chance that you are who you say you are."

An amused smirk flitted over her lips, and she tucked a strand of hair behind one of her slightly pointed ears. "So we have some of our demons going through most of the major cities in the world, spreading word of your return and their new king."

Asmodeus looked incredibly amused when he said, British accent thick, "The Clave is in an absolute uproar. They are running around uselessly. I've never seen them so scared in all my years. It's bloody brilliant!"

Lucifer smoothly cut back in. "We are already getting requests for meetings from all around the world, but we need to focus on the local clans and councils first. And the Clave, of course. The others can wait for now. One of the most important things on our agenda now is taking back control of the demons."

Lucifer sighed. "Unfortunately, Lilith is still giving orders from Hell through one of the cracks, and none of the rebelling demons are going to take it well when we start taking them out. We are looking at having a huge war on our hands, and Lilith will undoubtedly want to use the earth as a battle field."

Alec's eyebrows furrowed. "But how are they going to get out of Hell without our permission?"

"It's easiest to get out with permission," Lucifer explained, "but not the only way. They can climb out, but that takes years. They can wait until a solstice when it's easier, but that still takes a lot of time and energy. More than likely, they'll get Valentine to corrupt Raziel's sword. Then millions could easily slip in within seconds."

Alec's eyes widened. "How are we supposed to _fight_ that?!"

Lucifer waved a dismissive hand. "Not to worry, Alexander. We have nearly three times the amount on our side, and if we can get the shadowhunters and downworlders on our side, we should have little to no problem."

"But with that many people fighting, how on earth are we going to keep mundanes from noticing and getting hurt?"

Lucifer frowned. "And that's the problem, little shadowhunter. I have no idea."

Alec hummed. "Well, the Americas definitely aren't an option. Asia is too densely populated. The same for Europe and Australia. Africa has some potential, but . . ." He shrugged. "Honestly, the best place would probably be Antarctica."

"I . . ." Lucifer mumbled. "I honestly had not even thought of that. Hmm . . . maybe. We'd have to do something about the cold and satellites, but maybe . . ."

Lucifer and the two powerful demons spent the rest of the morning hunched over a piece of paper, mumbling to each other. Alec glanced over to see what they were writing, and immediately got a headache at the incredibly complex formulas scribbled on the paper.

Think rocket science, make it ten times harder, then add some undecipherable runes for good luck, and that's about what they had.

Alec shook his head and quickly retreated before his brain could spontaneously combust.

. . .

Some time later, Alec was grimly staring at a phone held between his fingers. He warily looked at it.

Lucifer huffed. "It is a phone, Alexander, not some monstrous creature. Just call the people I told you to, and get them over here."

"But they're going to kill me!" Alec claimed, not even entirely sure if he was exaggerating or not. There was no telling, really.

Lucifer frowned and stared at him blankly until Alec started shifting uncomfortably. Still, the fallen angel's gaze did not lessen.

"Fine! Since you obviously want me to die," he muttered, quickly dialing familiar numbers.

"You can't even die, you moron," Lucifer muttered.

" _Hello_?"

"Izzy," he greeted, forcing himself to sound cheerful. "How's it, uh, going?"

There was a pause, then: " _ALEC LIGHTWOOD! Where the hell are you?! You'd better have a good reason for that mess last night! Are you okay? Do you need help? Are you being held hostage?!_ "

He winced, holding the phone away from his ear at her volume. "Er, tell you what, Izzy, I'll just text you the address. Can you bring Jace, Luke, Magnus, and the mundanes? I'll text you the address."

" _Be there in ten_."

There was a _click_ , then nothing. He sighed, looking up for guidance after he sent her the address. "What did I do, God, to deserve this?"

Lucifer snorted from beside him. "I can assure you that my father did not mean this as a punishment, little shadowhunter."

Alec grumbled slightly, snatching one of the apartment keys from a plate by the door. "I'm going downstairs to wait for them."

Lucifer nodded. Before the doors of the elevator closed behind him, he could hear the fallen angel chattering in a fast passed and unfamiliar language on another phone. Huh. He wondered what that was about. Maybe he was talking to Asmodeus or Esmeralda since they were traveling around the world, acting as temporary liaisons to the various governments.

When he arrived in the lobby that was ten times more impressive now that he wasn't exhausted, he made his way to a couch to wait. True to her word, Isabelle and the others were marching inside about ten minutes later.

The woman behind the front desk gave the new comers a disapproving look at their clothing choices, her eyes lingering over Magnus's glittery top. Thankfully she said nothing as Alec rose to greet them.

All of them quickly looked at him and all of them seemed shocked at the nice clothes that he was wearing. Before any of them could say anything, he ushered them to the elevator, and slid in the key.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to understand that he wanted to wait until they got upstairs for their conversation, and there was an uncomfortable silence.

Simon coughed. "So, snazzy place," he commented. Everyone shot him an incredulous look, and he shrugged, but said nothing else.

The elevator door finally opened, and Lucifer paused in the middle of a sentence in that strange language. He said something into the phone, then hung up. He made presenting hands. "Welcome."

His greeting was met with an array of wary looks. Alec noticed that both Jace and Isabelle had their hands close to weapons.

"Everyone, this is Lucifer. Lucifer, this is everyone," Alec said, feeling incredibly awkward standing between everyone.

"It's a pleasure," Lucifer said, voice silkily smooth. "Do make yourselves at home," he continued, gesturing towards several couches, and he made his way to one.

Alec led the others over there, and after a moment's hesitation, sat beside Lucifer. The others slowly lowered themselves onto couches as well. His siblings sat beside each other, the mundanes sat with Luke, and Magnus sat by himself, sprawling out on an armchair.

"Now," Jace said, seeming to be unable to keep quiet any longer. "Care to explain what _in the Angel's name happened last night_?!"

Alec rubbed the back of his neck, and looked at Lucifer for help.

Lucifer raised an imposing eyebrow back at him, silently telling him to explain himself.

Alec grimaced. "Uh, well, as you all probably know, I was kidnapped last week."

"No kidding," Isabelle muttered.

Alec ignored her. "Lucifer, here, ordered one of the Princes to retrieve me for training, and so I was brought to him, and he started teaching me."

Magnus's eyebrows furrowed. "You were kidnapped, and you just went along with it, and trusted someone claiming to be _Satan_?" He shook his head. "You Nephilim are getting more ridiculous by the day."

Lucifer's lips twitched in amusement. "You forgot to mention your dreams, Alexander."

"Oh, yeah," he said sheepishly, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Sorry. Since I was really little, I've been having dreams about Lucifer, so I've kind of known him all my life."

Lucifer, having mercy on Alec, started to explain, "My father – God, for those of you who don't know – sentenced me to eternity in Hell, but I regretted by actions, and my father agreed to give me a second chance, so I've been working on trying to fix the repercussions of my mistakes."

He threaded his fingers together thoughtfully. "By the time I tried to clean up after myself, I had already done a lot that I would be unable to fix by myself, so I met with my father and the most powerful and influential angels."

"And they came up with a hare-brained plot," Alec helpfully added.

Lucifer shot him a disapproving glare. "We came up with a simple enough answer. If I couldn't rule, then I could just make someone worthy immortal and let them rule instead. So we watched the family lines to try to figure out where the best chance laid."

"And dear old Luci decided I was it," Alec said sourly.

Lucifer made an amused noise. "Either way, I had to get him properly trained once he was old enough, so I had one of my most trusted bring him to me for proper tuition. With my father's help, I was able to secure more time than what it seemed I would have."

"What do you mean?" Jace asked, golden eyes narrowed.

"Time traveled really slowly where we were," Alec said. "Something like two weeks for every day."

Lucifer nodded in agreement. "It was plenty of time for what had to be done, thankfully, even if there is still much to do. And with the way my plans are progressing, demons should be fully under Alexander's control within a decade."

Jace seemed to be piecing the information together incredibly quickly. "But without demons being a problem," he said slowly, "what will shadowhunters _do_?"

Everyone seemed highly interested in the answer, and Alec let Lucifer explain. The fallen angel smirked. "You can do whatever you want. You can get normal jobs, you can act as regular police for the downworld, you can do nothing." He shrugged. "It's your choice, really."

There was a stunned silence for a moment.

"What about the Clave?" Luke asked, ever the voice of reason. "You do know they're preparing for war against you, right?"

"Oh, we know," Lucifer assured. "And not to worry, the Clave will cease to exist soon enough."

Several people began to choke on air. " _WHAT_?!"

Lucifer nodded, a pleased look crossing his face. "Oh, yes. The Clave is useless and irredeemably prejudiced. Alexander and I will overthrow it soon enough, and set up a new one."

"How can you just _overthrow_ a government?" Clary asked, voice faint. "And who would even lead a new one?"

Lucifer and Alec exchanged a look.

"It would be easy enough to overthrow," Alec said, shrugging his shoulders. "The Clave is incredibly incompetent, and it wouldn't be too hard to get people to agree with us once we start proving how useless it is. Then it would be simple enough to set up a government for all non-mundanes on earth."

"You would include downworlders and demons?" Magnus asked, an eyebrow raised. Alec tried to ignore how the light caught in the glitter in the warlock's hair when he shifted.

"Equal representation," he agreed with a nod. "Anyone with intelligence enough to vote for representatives and is a resident of earth will have a vote. Obviously, demons in Hell will not."

Luke's eyes were wide. "There would be representatives voted in?"

Alec nodded. "No more family seats."

Simon leaned forward in interest. "And what about a leader? Would they be voted in, too?"

Lucifer answered this. "Actually, no, they would not. We need someone to get the government going without pesky things like getting voted out. They would be able to step down eventually and set up a voted leader, of course, but not in the beginning."

Lucifer's eyes practically sparkled. "Alexander and I have thought long and hard about our choice for a leader." His eyes sought out one of the people in the room. "It is our belief that you are the best choice, Miss Fray."

Clary sputtered, seeming unable to form any coherent words. Everyone else in the room had wide, unbelieving eyes. Finally the redhead choked out, "But – but that's _insane_. I'm a teenager, and I didn't even know about shadowhunter until a _week_ ago! Have you lost your mind?! I can't lead a _government_!"

Lucifer looked amused. "Now, now, Miss Fray. This is a good thing, I can assure you. Because of your lack of knowledge on the downworld, you have no prior prejudice and you are in the perfect position to be groomed for the role."

Clary seemed to be ready to argue some more, but Lucifer continued, "You would have as much help as you need, of course. It might be difficult at first," he admitted, "but you would do fine. You would not have complete control, but you would be in charge of keeping things in order. In extreme cases, you can even veto laws, although you would have to make a good case in front of the Archangels as to why."

Clary was once again sputtering, and her face was turning red.

Alec quickly said, "You have time to decide, of course, so just think it over, okay?"

Lucifer glanced at the time, before saying, "I'm sure you're all curious as to why you, in particular, were called here. The reason is because Alexander is going to need both liaisons and advisers, and all of you in this room are capable of doing both. If you so choose, you would be granted an eternal position in Alexander's court with immortality for those of you that wish it."

"You don't have to do either," Alec rushed to add, seeing the stunned faces. "And you definitely don't need to decide now. Just think about it."

Lucifer smirked and rose to his feet. "Now, I'm sure we all have better things to do than sit around and chat, so if you would please depart so Alexander and I can get back to work."

"Don't kick them out, Luce," Alec reprimanded. He glanced at a clock and wined lightly. "I really am running short on time though. I was going to try to have dinner with my parents tonight."

No one had any real problem with leaving, all of them needing to think over the conversation. Clary, Simon, and Luke all quickly left.

When his siblings walked past him, Isabelle said, "We'll see you at dinner, and we need to talk before you leave." She paused for a second. "Be careful getting inside, okay? We're being watched."

Alec nodded in agreement, and then he realized that the only person left was Magnus. The warlock walked closely by him. "Good night, Alexander."

Magnus's arm brushed against him as he passes, and he got a good nose-full of the warlock's scent, and _b_ _y the Angel, did he smell_ _good_!

It wasn't until the elevator had closed that he realized that Magnus had slipped a lime green piece of paper into his pocket. His face turned red as he read the note. It said:

 _Instead of getting kidnapped to get out of calling me, how about you just dial the numbers this time?_

Below that was a phone number with a smiley face.

Alec all but collapsed onto a couch, and covered his face with his arm, a smile tugging at his lips. "This is going to be an incredibly long week, isn't it?"

Lucifer cheerfully agreed.


	6. Cloak and Dagger

_**A/N: Merry Belated Christmas/Hanukah/Yule/whatever you may celebrate! I finished this on Christmas, so yay! I was in a writing grind, as I call it, and got this out pretty quickly. I'm just trying to read lots of romance stuff, since I have almost no experience writing it and I don't want to screw up Malec.**_

 _ **I did something a little different at the end, by the way. I wrote an omake. Gasp, I know. I couldn't resist. I got an idea, and I couldn't put it into the actual story, but I wanted to share it so . . . *shrugs***_

 _ **This is getting kinda long, but I was thinking about rewriting the summary. What do you think? Any suggestions?**_

 _ **Either way, enjoy, and tell me your thoughts!**_

 _ **Song I listened to on repeat (just one this week):**_

 _ **Run Boy Run (Woodkid)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: As is blatantly obvious by now, TMI would be a very different if it was mine, but I can always wish. No, seriously though, Cassandra is brilliant, and I want to read her work, not mine.**_

 **~Cloak and Dagger~**

The sun had long since set when Alec steeled himself and stopped avoiding the inevitable. He slowly got ready to leave. He had already changed into dark clothes and grabbed his shadow cloak, figuring that he'd probably need to be able to sink into the shadows.

Knowing that stealth was going to be crucial, he had decided to not take a bow since it would only get in his way. He was in the middle of failing at hiding a sword on himself when Lucifer came around the doorway.

Alec watched him out of the corner of his eye. The fallen angel watched Alec struggle and let out a light snort, causing Alec to make a disgruntled noise. "Little help, please?"

Lucifer smirked but made no move forward. Instead, he tossed a bag at him. It would have rather painfully smacked into his face had he not caught it at the last possible second. The bad had an array of weapons, some of which he vaguely recognized from their trip to Hell. He looked at the fallen angel in confusion.

"It's about time you stopped using seraph blades," Lucifer stated. "All of those are made of a mixture of metals from Hell with a little bit of metal from Heaven." Here, he grimaced. "It was incredibly difficult to make an alloy with it all, but some of my more talented forgers managed. There's not much they won't kill so _don't_ lose them."

Alec looked back into the bag with slight awe and started to carefully extract the weapons. There were two swords, eight daggers, four sets of throwing knives, two dozen arrows, and a beautiful bow. His eyes lit up. "Whoa."

Lucifer hummed in agreement. He held out a black belt with specific places on it for holding weapons. "Here. Put this on and take a couple of the daggers and one of the swords. This belt has a minor compulsion charm on it; it keeps people from noticing it or the weapons in it. Even Lilith herself would have difficulty seeing through it."

Alec eagerly grabbed the belt and put it on, quickly putting weapons in their proper sheaths. They'd had some weapon belts at the institute, but none like this. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lucifer leaned against the wall, tilting his head. His eyes cut to the clock. "You're almost running late, Alexander." He tsked. "Not a good quality, I assure you. When you do come back, though, do keep from getting followed or captured."

"I'll do my best," Alec said, wondering if he should feel insulted. Probably not.

"Oh, wait!" Lucifer said. He quickly handed him a crown. "Keep it on you just in case. It wouldn't do for a king to be without his crown. And remember that while we don't know much about your powers, we do know that you seem to be able to do a lot if you just will it."

Alec just sighed and accepted the crown, getting used to Lucifer's strange ways. He mulled the advise over with a quick nod of acknowledgment.

The journey to the institute was short – hallelujah! – and Alec tried his best to stay in the shadows. Easy, right? Ha, how about no. There were streetlights and passing cars headlights _everywhere_. He probably looked ridiculous, jumping from any and all light, too. He was about five blocks from the institute when he spotted the first shadowhunters.

He felt his eyebrows raising. He had been hoping that Isabelle had been exaggerating, but apparently not. From what he could tell, a full perimeter had been set up. That was going to make it decidedly more difficult to get inside undetected.

He shook his head as he mimicked the glamour from the day before. It was much easier this time and took a lot less energy. He shuddered slightly at the feeling. He hadn't noticed before, tired as he'd been, but the glamour felt almost like gelatine on his skin.

Alec spent the five block journey staying close to the buildings, pulling his cloak tightly around him, trying walk noiselessly. When he finally got to the institute, he frowned.

There were six shadowhunters in total guarding the building. There were two by the front gate, two around the back, and two by the doors of the building. This was not going to be easy at all, he decided.

What to do, what to do?

Maybe . . . hm, that could work. They would know he was there, though. Oh well.

He was smirking slightly as he turned back. On the rear of a building was a shadowhunter leaning against a wall. The man yawned and checked his watch. Alec raised his hand, eyes already glowing slightly. He started to slowly raise the man into the air, and as he had hoped, the man started furiously yelling.

"HELP!" he shouted, twisting. Huh. He had strong lungs. "I CAN'T MOVE. I NEED BACKUP!"

Alec's eyebrows were raised when all six of the shadowhunters guarding the institute came running, weapons in hand, leaving the institute open to threat. Wow, they were idiots.

Alec continued to levitate the man as he walked back towards the institute. Once he was in front of the doors, he slowly lowered his hand, gently sitting the man down. He actually felt kind of bad for the Clave if they couldn't get more competent help than _that_.

Alec raised his hand to the door, prepared to request entrance. Before he could actually say anything, though, his hand touched the door and something very strange happened, causing his body to flood with extra energy.

Starting under his hand, a pale gold light rippled. It spread across the rest of the ornate wooden doors, rippling with his hand at the center point. It reminded him of the ocean on a calm day. The door, previously cold, heated up under his hand and energy continued to thrum through his body. The doors suddenly clicked open.

His eyes had widened, and he almost wanted to study the ripples, but he could hear the thudding of boots approaching from behind. He darted inside and quickly closed the doors.

When the doors clicked back into place, they lit up with the same pale gold light and it stayed, rippling throughout like a pond even without him touching it.

He didn't understand why until he heard the shadowhunters outside furiously demanding entrance, but the doors stayed sealed. He smiled and looked up. There was only one person – being? – that could pull that off. "Thank you, Lord Raziel."

He could have sworn that the door glowed brighter for a second, almost as if in acknowledgment. Now confident that he was safe, he made his way upstairs using the rickety old elevator. The elevator came to a stop and was creaky as it opened. Thankfully, the clanking of dishes in the kitchen seemed to mask the noise.

He looked into the dining room before he entered, and sure enough, Isabelle was sitting a plate of food in his normal spot. Thankfully, it was obviously their mother's cooking and not hers. It seemed he had barely gotten there in time.

The rest of his family, including Max, were already sitting down. His parents eyed his food warily, glancing at his empty seat, but they said nothing about it. He gave them a moment to get sat down before he announced himself.

"Am I late for dinner?" he asked, leaning against the doorway. He carefully kept the amusement off his face when they all jumped. He had been spending _way_ too much time with Lucifer, it seemed.

" _Alec_?!" his mother asked incredulously.

He suddenly felt awkward and out of place, barely resisting the urge to tug at his fancy clothes. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad."

Whereas Jace and Isabelle and even Max were unsurprised and calm, all seeming to expect him, his parents both seemed to be on the verge of panic attacks, quickly rising to their feet.

" _What are you doing here_?!" his father all but hissed. "Are you trying to get caught? Get out before they figure out that you're here!"

Maryse quickly walked towards him, dark eyes wide with what looked like fear. "Hurry up and leave!"

"Wait . . ." Alec said, feeling confused. "Are you trying to . . . protect me?"

Maryse looked insulted. "What kind of parents would we be if we threw you in the lion's den?" She shook her head, focusing. "The Inquisitor is here somewhere! I'm surprised she hasn't already come up here for you. She's been after your blood since that battle! You've got her so distracted that she hasn't even gotten a chance to go after Jace."

Alec blinked. He still felt horribly confused. Where these the same parents that had always done everything they could to get him to stop having his "freaky" dreams? And what was that about the inquisitor going after Jace? "Don't worry," he told her. "Lord Raziel has sealed the entrance for me."

At that, even his siblings looked up incredulously. Robert coughed. "Did you just say _Lord Raziel_ sealed the door _for you_?"

Alec nodded and was about to respond when his stomach loudly growled. "Er . . ." he mumbled, feeling heat quickly rise to his face. "Sorry, but I haven't really eaten since breakfast. Can I tell you while we eat?"

Maryse sent a worried look towards the elevator, but nodded eventually. She and Robert led him to the table, and he slid into the seat between Jace and Isabelle. Max grinned at him from around Jace. He smiled somewhat weakly back, taking a bite of his dinner.

"So," he slowly began, feeling uncomfortable with the way everyone was looking at him. "This tastes great."

Maryse and Robert were both sitting stiffly, occasionally sending wary looks in the general direction of the elevator. Maryse answered, "Thank you."

They descended into awkward silence again, and Alec glanced around the table. Everyone was there except . . .

"Where's Hodge at?" he asked with his head tilted.

Automatically everyone stiffened and the tension was practically solid in the air. His eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

Robert opened his mouth to explain, but he seemed to change his mind. Isabelle, fidgeting slightly, finally said, "Alec . . . Hodge gave Jace to Valentine."

Alec inhaled his drink and started furiously coughing. That would explain the inquisitor wanting to talk to Jace. "That good for nothing pestiferous _worm_!"

At the same time that Jace snorted, Isabelle looked confused and mouthed _pestiferous_ to herself. His parents and Max looked slightly shocked, and he belatedly realized that his eyes were glowing and the table was starting to shake. Oops.

"Sorry," he muttered awkwardly, looking at his dinner. He didn't have to maintain eye contact with family, right? Yeah, probably not. So long as he never let Lucifer know, maybe.

"Er, that's all right, son," Robert coughed, but it was blatantly obvious that he was not "all right" with it at all. Oh well. It was the thought that counts, he supposed.

The table descended, once more, into uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to be the one to break the silence. Luckily, Max started jabbering about a new comic book that he had just read.

After that, familiar conversation was shared, but Alec didn't miss the way that his parents were purposefully ignored the metaphorical horse in the room, in the form of his new title, responsibilities, and powers.

He just put a somewhat forced smile onto his face and continued eating. At least they hadn't kicked him out, and that was honestly more than he had expected.

. . .

Isabelle latched her nails into his arm, no doubt leaving marks, and tugged him and Jace behind her. She turned her head to call over her shoulder. "Dinner was great, thanks. We'll be in my room."

Alec and Jace exchanged a resigned look as she marched ahead of them. It was generally safest for all involved if she got her way. She didn't release them until they were standing in front of her door. She hastened to open the door and gestured for them to sit on her bed.

The second they were inside, she shut the door and took out her stele. The two males watched with curious eyes as she started scribbling locking, silencing, and safety runes all over the wood. When she finished, she stood up with a pleased look and a nod. The runes flared blue-silver light for a second before fading, proving that they were working.

She turned towards them and jumped on her bed, legs crossing. Once comfortable, her eyes locked on Alec. "Spill. What happened when you were gone?"

And spill Alec did. For hours.

At one point, Jace and Isabelle both started literally rolling in laughter. Isabelle gasped out, "Can we keep him, Alec? _Please?_ "

Jace and Isabelle both looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes. His eyebrows rose. "Lucifer is not a puppy," he slowly explained. "Lucifer is Satan. You can not have Satan as a pet."

They both looked wounded, and Jace put a hand over his heart. "You know me so little, my dear brother. I don't want him as a pet; I want him as a best friend!"

Alec had just rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond when there was a strange rumbling noise. The three siblings blinked and looked around in confusion.

Almost immediately, the entire room started shaking and dust started falling from the rafters. Alec and Isabelle both sneezed, their allergies getting the best of them.

"What is that?" Isabelle asked, smoothly jumping off her bed and pulling out her whip. Jace and Alec followed her lead, both getting out their swords.

Alec shook his head, eyebrows furrowed. The ground was shaking under his feet, but not enough to make balance difficult, and there was a strange feeling in the air. "I don't know, but it feels almost like – but, no, that doesn't make sense."

Gold and brown eyes narrowed at him, two different but incredibly similar facial expressions. "Like what?" Jace demanded.

Alec never got to answer. Light flared brightly, the same pale gold color as the light on the institute door, and a voice reverberated through the room. Rather than be cool and silky like Lucifer's, it was powerful and hair-raising. A brute force that somehow seemed melodic. It was one that Alec vaguely recognized from his dreams.

 _"_ _Lord Alexander,_ " it said. " _I can only keep the Clave from entering the building for so long without alienating myself. You need to flee now. I have sent word to Lucifer_ _and he is on his way_ _. You have five minutes before I must open the doors._ "

Alec cursed under his breath before replying. "Thank you for the warning, Lord Raziel."

He turned to his siblings. Judging by their expressions, they had been permitted to hear the words. They stood in dead silence for a heartbeat before he glanced to the door. "I have to leave."

Isabelle and Jace both nodded at him once.

He left the room with a stormy expression, aggravated that his time with his siblings had been cut short, and made sure that he had all of his things. He thought about running by his bedroom, but decided better of it. He had limited time, and he had nothing of sentimental value in there. Besides, Lucifer could procure anything he wanted.

He started to head towards the elevator, but he paused half way there. That was the way that the shadowhunters and the inquisitor would come once Raziel allowed them entrance, so that way was a no go.

He turned and headed towards the training room quickly. Maybe he could climb out of one of the windows? It was pretty high up, but he could probably cushion his fall . . .

He quietly closed the doors just barely in time as the elevator doors creaked open and the sound of a dozen leather-covered feet thudding echoed. He quickly slid a wooden spar stick into the door handles, temporarily holding the doors in place.

Adrenaline pulsed through Alec's veins as he looked up, easily seeing through the dark, eyes glowing slightly. There were rafters set for support all the way to the unused bell system at the very top of the building, more than a hundred feet up.

There were windows at the ground floor, maybe thirty feet up from the ground outside, but that was too risky. His best bet would be to get up high enough that they wouldn't risk shooting him down. His eyes shot to the door as they were suddenly banged on harshly. When the doors didn't open, the shouting began, more people rushing to budge the door.

His eyes caught on a rafter about twenty feet up. He was already breathing heavy from the rush of the chase when he quickly climbed up the bottom rafter from one of the higher structures in the room meant for training.

He braced himself and jumped up to grab onto another rafter nearly ten feet above him. His hands latched onto it and he swung himself on top of it. He was about forty feet up when the wood holding the doors closed snapped with a _crunch_.

He froze for a heartbeat, but he quickly continued his ascent. Even if they had night vision runes on, it would be hard to see him at that point. He kept as quiet as possible, and kept his cloak close to him, keeping it from getting tangled in anything.

"Where's the light?" a woman's cold voice demanded.

Alec glanced down to see the speaker, and he realized that it must be the inquisitor. It was a woman with platinum blond hair and intense gray eyes. While she could easily be considered to have ageless beauty, she had a deep scowl on her face and she was dressed entirely in an oppressive gray color.

"I found it, Inquisitor!" a dark skinned woman triumphantly said. There was a faint click noise, but no light. "I . . . it's not working."

Alec grinned, continuing to scale the rafters, knowing who must have been responsible. He was almost seventy feet up now. _Thank you, Lord Raziel,_ he thought, knowing the angel would be able to hear his prayer.

There was a light flash of lightning outside, visible through the ornate windows, and a grumble of thunder followed it. Alec figured that it was the angel's version of "You're welcome.".

Cold sweat was dripping down his back from the exertion of hauling his body weight around, and the rafters were unbelievable dusty. Between the two, it was getting more difficult to keep a secure grasp, and he paused for a moment to slow his heartbeat and wipe the sweat and dust off his hands. He was getting close to the bell now. He guessed he was a little over a hundred feet up.

He looked down, but it was harder to see now. Deciding to test Lucifer's theory about his powers, he willed himself to see better. He felt a slight drain of energy, but suddenly his vision sharpened.

The shadowhunters were still in the room, talking quietly, and with another thought and energy drain he was able to understand them, too. They were searching the room, quietly talking amongst themselves. Suddenly a red haired man looked up and gasped.

"What?" the inquisitor demanded, quickly coming to him. "What is it?"

The man blinked up in Alec's direction causing Alec to freeze. "I . . . look, inquisitor!" he cried, pointing.

Everyone in the room looked up towards him and his muscles were tensed. There was _no way_ that they could see him! He was about a hundred feet up and it was dark!

" _By the Angel_ ," the inquisitor breathed, her eyes wide. "Is that . . . is that _him_? Maybe . . . maybe he _is_ of Hell."

"I don't know," another answered, "but I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

Before anything else could be said, lightning flashed again. With everyone's eyes looking up, the lightning illuminated him, and his eyes widened. Uh oh. He quickly stood up, lunging upwards towards the next rafter before the light had even faded.

"He's going to the roof!" the inquisitor snapped, snapping out of her daze. "We won't be able to catch up with him from inside. Go outside now! We can't let him escape."

Their footsteps quietly pounded out, and Alec felt a rush of slight panic. They knew his plan now. How was he going to get out of this? With fear intermingling with adrenaline, he had scaled the final forty feet incredibly quickly. Then came the next problem.

At the very top, it went into a slightly pointed tip. Granted it looked a lot more pointy from nearly two hundred feet down. Once there, it was obvious that it was not truly a tip at all, but rather a three foot wide flat surface with sharp downward inclines on each side.

Oddly enough, there was a trap door to the outside, so he got outside easily enough. The next problem came in the form of the wind. Because of the lightning storm and how high he was, there was a swooping wind that threatened to unbalance him, so he crouched down. He shivered slightly. The wind was chilly and he still had a fine layer of sweat over his body.

He looked down to the ground in front of the institute, and he saw that all of the shadowhunters were gathered there, including his family. They all were looking up at him with varying degrees of wariness and horror.

He saw the inquisitor, the only form not dressed in black, cross her arms and shift her weight. He couldn't hear what she was saying, partially because of the distance, partially because of the wind howling in his ears.

His eyebrows rose when he realized that Clary and Simon had just arrived. Clary was saying something, her arms furiously gesturing, but Jace calmed her down. She seemed angry with him too, though, and turned away from him and stalked towards Simon, who was obviously uncomfortable standing amongst shadowhunters.

Alec shook his head slightly. He really needed to figure out what was going on with them. They were obviously completely in love with each other, but they both seemed to be avoiding it. Weird. He wondered if he'd missed something.

When the shadowhunters started fanning out, surrounding the building, he snapped out of his thoughts. _How_ was he going to get out of this situation? From what Raziel had said, Lucifer should be arriving sooner or later which was the only silver lining he could see.

Alec leaned forward slightly so he could look down better, but he quickly leaned back to his original place. Heights had never bothered him before, but there was a big difference between a couple of stories with fire escapes and a couple of _hundred feet_ with no real way down but jumping.

Before his brain could abort mission, a glint of pure white light caught his eye. He looked towards it, and he let out a shaky breath of relief when he realized that Lucifer was there and had revealed his wings to get his attention. No one else seemed to see the fallen angel.

Lucifer's eyes were glowing slightly as he caught his eye. The fallen angel was on top of a building, but was still about a hundred feet below him. Lucifer mimed jumping, and Alec's eyes widened and he shook his head.

He could faintly see Lucifer rolling his eyes. He then pointed at Alec, mimed jumping, then pointed at himself and mimed catching and flying.

 _Oh_ , Alec mouthed. He nodded, and stood, noticing that all of the shadowhunters had stopped speaking. He glanced down, feeling a curl of fear in his stomach, but he trusted Lucifer. He wouldn't let him hit the ground.

So with a grim resolve, Alec let a smile slip onto his lips as he stepped forward, eyes closing. In one smooth leap, he was falling, and he barely heard the screams above the rush of air in his ears. Thunder rumbled, and in the next second a bright white light lit up his world, gentle hands grabbing him. Then, he was safe.

. . .

Whereas Alec was exhausted, sticky from dried sweat, and sure that he would have aged ten years if he _could_ age, Lucifer was delighted. He would be silently standing there, then suddenly burst into mad cackles of laughter.

Alec tried to humor the fallen angel – really, he did – but it was getting ridiculous. "Will you be quiet for ten minutes, _please_!"

Lucifer cut off in the middle of a burst of cackling. He cleared his throat and straightened his already impeccable clothes, his chin raising in a snobby expression. "Why, my little shadowhunter, I am perfectly capable of being quiet." He paused, and a smirk slipped through. "But _their faces!_ " He laughed.

Alec made a strangled noise and slid down on the couch. "Can I go to sleep or are you going to keep me awake to retell it _again_? In case you'd forgotten, Lucifer, I was there!"

Lucifer looked somewhat wounded and he pouted. "Very well. Get a good night's sleep. We're visiting the Fairy Queen tomorrow afternoon, then the vampire clan once the sun sets."

Alec nodded and stood to head to his room. He felt slightly guilty, though, and he turned to Lucifer. "Sorry for snapping at you, Luce. It's just been a really long day."

Lucifer grinned at him. "No harm done. Now, shoo. You need to get your beauty sleep!"

Alec muttered something slightly rude under his breath, but he easily headed to his room. Fifteen minutes later, he was curled under his covers clean. His light was off, but there was faint light from the city shining in the open windows. He decided to leave them open, liking the way it looked.

He looked up at his ceiling, thinking about the day. He started with the most recent and worked his way back. He had several mysteries that needed solving.

What exactly had happened inside Valentine's HQ while he and Lucifer were in that battle? What was happening with Clary and Jace? Where did Hodge go? Who in the Clave would be easy to sway to his side? Were they all idiots? What language was that that Lucifer had been speaking earlier? Would the fae or vampires be on their side?

He shook his head and stopped thinking about stuff he didn't know. He needed to think about something else. Without his permission, he started thinking of a pair of mischievous eyes lines in dark makeup. He started to brush the warlock from his mind, but he quickly sat up as he realized that he had never texted him.

He got the colorful slip of paper from his pants in the dirt clothes hamper. He debated with himself. He had just gotten it earlier that day, and he didn't want to seem desperate. Then again, he had very limited time already, and he got the feeling that his free time was about to decrease even more.

With that thought in mind, he decisively typed " _Hey, this is Alec Lightwood"_ and hit send.

Less than a minute later, his phone rang. Eyebrows raising, he answered it.

"Hello?"

" _We really must work on your timing, my dear Alexander,"_ a half-asleep voice murmured, nearly purring his name.

Alec felt a flush on his face from the way the warlock said his name and he glanced at the clock. Oh. It was two o'clock in the morning. He felt sheepish. "Er, sorry. I didn't realize how late it was."

A decidedly more awake huff of laughter answered. There was a faint shuffling noise like Magnus was readjusting himself. " _Would it have anything to do with your attempt at cathedral diving_?"

"Maybe." He paused. "How'd you know about that?"

" _Please,_ " Magnus said. " _The Clave can't do anything by itself. They came banging on my door hours ago, demanding my services."_ He huffed. _"They scared off my_ _guests_ _, and I_ _refused to help_ _."_

Alec grinned. "Thanks."

" _You are most welcome, Alexander."_

He frowned and out of habit said, "I prefer to go by Alec, actually."

The warlock replied without pause. " _Lord Lucifer calls you it. There is no harm in letting more than one person call you that. It sounds more royal, as well. Is that not what you're aiming for?"_

Alec sighed. "No, you're right. Lucifer keeps trying to get me used to it, but it seems more of something that people I don't like would call me. Alexander is just so . . . formal, you know? I don't want friends calling me it."

There was a second of silence. " _Does that mean you consider me a friend, Alec?"_ He could hear the grin in his voice.

Alec's face heated up. "Uh, well, um, yes?"

There was a laugh. " _Are you free tomorrow?"_

His eyes widened, and he temporarily went into panic mode. By the Angel, did he want to _meet up_ or something?! He tried to slow his breathing before he responded. "In the morning, yeah. Why?"

Magnus hummed. " _How would you like to get some coffee with me? I know this charming little diner that has_ _delicious_ _muffins."_

Alec blinked, his heart thudding in his ears. "Er, sure. When?"

" _How does seven sound? I can come to the building you're staying in?"_

"Sure," he said, wondering if he was hallucinating. Maybe he had hit something in the fall from the institute and was in a coma or something.

" _Great. See you then, Alexander,"_ the warlock purred before hanging up.

Alec blankly looked at his phone for several minutes, wondering _what_ had just happened. That kind of thing did _not_ happen to people like him. He exhaled and leaned back into his pillows.

He slipped into sleep with a light smile on his face and his phone loosely clutched in his hand.

 **Omake: Alec felt incredibly sneaky as he jumped into the closet, landing in a roll. He could faintly hear the Mission Impossible Theme playing from his bed, and he slowly opened the drawer. His eyes lit up when he saw the forbidden items, and he slowly reached inside . . .**

 _ **Zap!**_

" **Ow!" he yelped, snatching his hand back. It had shocked him! It had actually _shocked_ him!**

 **There was a cleared throat, and he looked up to see Lucifer standing there, holding up the phone that was playing the Mission Impossible theme. His eyebrows were raised. "Do I even want to ask what you're doing, Alexander?"**

 **Alec slowly shook his head and removed his hands from the forbidden drawer.**

 **Operation: Retrieve Exercise Clothes (Op: REC for short) was a failure, it seemed. Maybe next time . . .**


	7. Thy Politics Art Tiring

_**A/N: Oh, I'm just barely getting this up in time. Oops. I'm a bit of a procrastinator at times.**_

 ** _Guys! It is three_ _days until Shadowhunters premieres! I'm am so, so, so excited. Matthew Daddario and Alberto Rosende are my favorites so far. What about you?_**

 ** _There are three new characters in this chapter, and let me go ahead and make it clear that I don't like adding OC's to this, but I don't really have a choice. I'm trying to keep them from being in the story too often, but I can only do so much with the characters in the Mortal Instruments for my plans._**

 _ **Anyway, onwards to the chapter!**_

 _ **Chapter Song:**_

 _ **Angel With a Shotgun (The Cab)**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I am in the midst of an evil plan to_ _get_ _the rights to Mortal Instruments. All that I need is several puppies, a kitten, two firefighters, one cop, a ball of yarn, and ten dollars. We shall see._**

 **~Thy Politics Art Tiring~**

Thinking back on it, he really shouldn't be surprised. In fact, Lucifer had even _told_ him that this was going to happen. Granted, he'd been half asleep and way too tired to really listen. When he wandered out of his room after only about three hours of sleep, unable to stay asleep even though he was exhausted, all he wanted was coffee and maybe some food.

What he had not expected was a blond, a redhead, and a dark head all huddled together in the doorway to one of the rooms he hadn't been in yet. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he quietly made his way over to them. He was just about to look over Asmodeus's shoulder when he heard a loud neigh.

Alec froze, and a memory rushed back. On the first night there, just a couple of days ago, Lucifer had claimed that he was going to make a stable for the Abyssal Guardians. He frowned. Geeze, couldn't a guy get even a couple hours sleep without horses moving in? Honestly.

Lucifer seemed to notice him, and the blonde turned his head towards him, revealing a mischievous gleam in his eyes. His lips were curved into a faint smirk and Alec was immediately on guard. "So, Alexander," he began, his lips twitching. "Who were you talking to last night?"

"Er," Alec said as the three of Hell's best stepped out of the doorway. His face felt hot which distracted him from his curiosity about how they'd gotten he horses inside without anyone noticing. He briefly considered the childish response of "nobody!", but Lucifer would need to know that he wouldn't be around for a few hours anyway. "Um, Magnus Bane."

Lucifer's grin was predatory. "The warlock that flirts with you?"

"Yeah," Alec replied, feeling very uncomfortable at the attention of the obnoxious fallen angel. He vaguely noticed Asmodeus and Esmeralda moving towards another room that he thought was a meeting room. He forced out, "We're not doing anything before lunch, right?"

Lucifer's eyebrows rose and he looked amused. "Not really. I was going to get you to read up a bit on the magic of Hell and on earth politics. Why?"

Alec resisted the urge to bite his lip, a habit that Lucifer was trying to get him to stop. "I, uh, _Ihavea_ _kindofsortof_ _date!"_ he said quickly.

Lucifer frowned at him, but he could see the amusement in his eyes. He cupped a hand around his ear. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you over the stumbling and mumbling."

Alec barely resisted the urge to say something nasty about that, but he knew that mumbling was a bad habit, especially for the King of Hell. He took a deep breath. "Magnus and I are going for coffee in a bit."

Lucifer looked delighted. "Well, why didn't you say so from the beginning? What time?"

"Seven," he said, feeling awkward. He was talking to _Satan_ about a date – wait, was it even a date?! Oh, by the angel, what if the warlock didn't mean it as a coffee date?

Lucifer seemed to not notice his internal panic and his eyes flicked to a clock. He hummed. "You still have almost two hours." He seemed to muse something over and nodded to himself. "How about we get an hour of study in while you eat and then you can get ready?"

Alec shrugged, glad to be back on familiar topics. "Sure. With the way the Clave is acting, I definitely need to know more of what is going on."

And that was how he found himself sitting in one of the comfy dining room chairs, drinking a cup of coffee and looking through documents. Because of the limited time they had, Lucifer was trying to cram in as much as he could. There were about five pages of brief information of obscure laws the Clave had that Alec needed to know, a short page on the creation of Hell and its power, and a huge stack of important reports that Lucifer and the two demons had gone through.

The notes on the Clave were interesting, to say in the least. Most of the laws written were horrible, and he'd hopefully be able to use them against the Clave. A few of the laws were so stupid that he actually snorted out loud, causing Lucifer to look up from his stack of new reports.

The single page on Hell raised a lot more questions than it answered. It vaguely talked about how God made the place as a type of punishment for Lucifer and humans, and how God had set up some magic that had shifted through the eons.

Alec was curious. "Hey, Luce, if Hell got its power from God, where am I getting mine from since I'm not a warlock?"

Lucifer got a considering look, putting his letter (writing in Portuguese, it looked like). "Either Hell or my father, I suppose. Knowing my father, though, it's probably both."

Alec's head tilted. "What do you mean?"

Lucifer frowned, seeming to search for a way to put it into words. "Hell is powerful – very powerful. It has a massive amount of magic and energy. My father created it, sure, but he just gave it enough to set it up. Over the eons, it's grown and grown. Between demons and all the human souls, it gets a lot of power."

"Wait," Alec cut in, feeling slightly horrified. "Is it, like, sucking energy out of people?"

Lucifer shook his head. "No, not really. Hm, it kind of takes used energy. So if a demon runs all over the place, using a bunch of energy, a portion of the used energy goes into Hell. It doesn't hurt anyone it's taken from, and you can't even feel it."

"Huh," Alec said. "What does it need all the energy for?"

Lucifer shrugged. "A lot of reasons. Expanding when the population goes up. Keeping some barriers up. Letting demons and warlock access the magic."

"So demons and warlocks that use magic are getting it from Hell itself?" Alec asked, intrigued.

"Yes. They tap into the extra reserves. It's incredibly difficult, though, and bloodline does affect it. The more someone taps into the magic, the more the magic entwines with them. So the better someone's ancestors are at tapping in, the better they'll probably be since part of the magic was probably passes to them. Of course, the older they are, the more controlled they are, as well."

Lucifer swirled his drink, which was hot chocolate. Yep, the devil was drinking hot chocolate. "Of course, it's a lot easier when actually in Hell, when there's energy and magic everywhere. It's why I was surprised when you did so well with your powers here; I was expecting it to be more difficult."

Alec was confused. "But we weren't even in Hell for most of the time."

"Yes, but my father laid the dimensions in line for Hell's energy to be easily accessible. Either way, going by trend, you should be weaker now, but you're not. It's possible that my father gave you a really good connection to the energy, or maybe it's just because your the king." He shrugged. "I have no idea. You'll have to ask him."

"Ask _God_?!" Alec asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah," Lucifer said, looking confused. "When you have a question, go to the source and all that."

Alec just shook his head, and picked up the first report. It was from Australia. He had just read the first paragraph that was ridiculously formal, ' _Lord Lucifer'_ this, ' _my lord'_ that, _'honored to make a report, my lord Lucifer'_. He hoped the others were a bit more casual.

"Read this next," Lucifer said, handing him an official looking letter. "It's from the Seelie Queen."

"Okay," he agreed, and he read it. The letter was written on parchment and was very formal, but from what it was saying, the Queen wanted an official meeting and to ask them some questions.

"Hey, Alexander," Lucifer suddenly said. "What time were you supposed to meet Magnus?"

"Seven, why?" he asked.

Lucifer's eyes widened. "It's six forty eight."

Alec cursed, scrambling up. He all but bolted towards his room, needing to change out of his pajamas.

"Wear a blue or green sweater and that silver scarf!" Lucifer called after him.

Alec didn't answer.

. . .

"Welcome to the best coffee place in Manhattan," Magnus proclaimed, coming to a stop and gesturing towards a small café. It was mundane so the chances of running into someone who would recognize and arrest him was slim. The warlock opened the door with a slight flourish and motioned for Alec to enter first.

"The best?" Alec asked, walking in and getting hit by the rich aroma of coffee.

Magnus nodded, leading him towards a table towards one of the corners of the room. "Believe me; I've had a long time to test out food and coffee in this city."

"I'll have to take your word for it, then," he said, and he looked over the place. It had a lot of warm colors, and seemed to have a pretty calm atmosphere. Several mundane college students seemed to be working on homework on laptops. There were two baristas, both looking incredibly cheerful for seven in the morning.

Alec felt eyes watching him, and his eyes snapped back towards the source to see Magnus looking at him in amusement. The warlock was standing up for some reason, causing Alec to look at him in confusion.

Magnus nodded towards the counter with a quirked eyebrow. "I'll get the coffee. What kind do you want?"

"Just plain black, thanks," Alec replied.

"Will do. Be back in a flash," Magnus said with a grin that somehow seemed suggestive, walking to the counter. His purple top was shimmering in the lighting and the silver streaks in his hair were a stark contrast against his dark hair.

Alec's eyes continued to watch the warlock as he ordered their coffee and a couple of muffins. He thought he was being somewhat subtle about it, but suddenly Magnus caught his eye and winked at him.

Alec could feel his face heating up and he averted his eyes, instead observing the other people in the shop. He started trying to figure out weird facts about them, a game he and his siblings sometimes played. He didn't get very far before Magnus was back with the coffee.

The warlock passed over his coffee and a muffin, and his nose was somewhat wrinkled as he looked at Alec's coffee. "Black coffee is incredibly bitter. I don't understand how you drink it like that."

Alec shrugged. "I don't really know, but I've drunk it like that my whole life. I don't like the taste of all the sugar and creamer." Here, he looked at Magnus's coffee that was obviously laden with the stuff. It also had whipped cream with caramel on top.

Magnus nodded easily. "Fair enough. More sugar for me, then."

Alec nodded in agreement and finally took his first sip of his coffee. Oh, wow, the warlock might not have been exaggerating when he said this was the best café in Manhattan. He'd take this over the sludge in the institute any day.

He noticed Magnus intensely watching him, and he spoke up. "So, what's it like being the High Warlock of Brooklyn?"

"Horribly busy and sometimes annoying. You wouldn't believe the ridiculous things people pay me to do." He shook his head. "Oh well. It pays well." He suddenly leaned forward with an eager expression. "So what's it like to be the King?"

Alec shrugged. "Honestly? Incredibly exhausting. From the way things are working out and from what Lucifer is saying, I'm almost never going to have free time. I was lucky to get a few hours this morning."

Magnus grinned at him. "Well, I'm honored you spent rare free time with me, then."

Alec blushed, attempting to cover it by taking a bite of his muffin (which was delicious, by the way). "You're welcome."

"So what were you doing before we met up then?" Magnus asked, seeming highly curious, eyes never leaving his.

Alec took another sip of his coffee. "Not much compared to some mornings. Lucifer finished setting up some stables in a room when I woke up."

Magnus's head tilted, cat eyes confused. "Why on earth do you need a stable in a penthouse?"

"It was Lucifer's idea. We brought a couple of Abyssal Guardians with us, and they needed a place to stay."

Magnus looked somewhat dumbstruck. "Dear lord, you are getting yourself into some strange situations, aren't you, Alexander?"

He grinned sheepishly with a shrug. "I'm getting used to it. Luce is an . . . interesting person to live with, to say in the least. Anyway, I started to read up on politics, Hell's power reserves, and read some reports from other countries."

He decided to elaborate. "Lucifer has demons all over the world reporting to him the situations in their countries. It's kind of weird though, since I read a couple of reports from places that don't speak English much, but all the reports were in English. Lucifer can read all languages, I think, so he might be translating them for me."

Magnus looked confused. "He hasn't given you a spell or runes for languages?"

"Wait, there's spells and runes for that?"

"Yes." The warlock frowned. "I wonder why he hasn't given you anything. The spell's pretty complicated, but the runes are simple enough. All you have to do is put them on through tattoo or jewelry. Eventually you don't even need them because you eventually get proficient in the languages once you use them so much."

Alec frowned thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask Luce about it. There might be something about my rank that affects it. I'm not sure, but that sounds incredibly useful. It's not like I don't already have tattoos, anyway."

Magnus's flickered to his neck to the only visible permanent marks. The warlock suddenly did a double-take, and grabbed Alec's arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked, watching as Magnus pushed up his sleeve. His heart was pounding, and he was sure his face was red. By the Angel, he was touching him!

Magnus pointed at one of the marks. "These don't normally look like this, right?"

He looked at the marks and his eyes widened. Instead of the normal, dark color of the marks, they were turning silver tinted, almost like fading scars. "No. No, they don't." There was slight panic in his voice.

"Would Lord Lucifer know?" Magnus asked.

"Probably," he said. He thought about something, and his curiosity temporarily pushed his panic away. "Why do you call Luce 'Lord Lucifer'?"

Magnus shrugged, like the answer was obvious. "He's my lord. Technically you are, too, but you don't mind when I call you by your actual name." He tilted his head and a wicked look overtook his face. "I can call you Lord or King, though, if you want."

"No, thank you," Alec hastily said, trying to ignore the leer. His eyes shot back down to his oddly colored marks, and he started to stand. "I really need to go ask Lucifer about these marks, though. I guess I'll see you around?"

Magnus smoothly rose to his feet as well. "You'd better believe that you'll see me around. Text me."

"Okay," he agreed, and watched as Magnus left with a wink.

Alec shook his head in amusement and there was a faint smile playing on his lips. Magnus really was something else. When he turned to leave, as well, he could have sworn he saw a man on the other side of the café watching him, but he must have imagined it. Besides, the man definitely did not have solid white eyes like he thought at first.

. . .

"Lucifer!" Alec called the second the elevator doors opened. The fallen angel was sitting at the dining room table, looking over a small stack of reports, but he looked up with a grin when he heard Alec.

Lucifer's grin fell when he saw Alec's expression and he was on his feet in the next second, looking concerned. "What happened?"

Alec pushed his sleeves up, and pointed at the marks. "They're turning silver!"

Lucifer leaned closer to look at them, but he didn't seem concerned. "Ah, I had thought something like this might happen. It's nothing to worry about; your body just has no reason for the runes anymore."

"What does that mean?"

Lucifer explained, "You probably didn't notice, but lately you've been instinctively using your powers to give yourself the same effects your runes do. They realize, for lack of a better word, that they are unneeded, so they are disappearing."

"Oh, that makes since, I guess," Alec said, but then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, what about my parabatai rune with Jace?! It won't fade will it?"

Lucifer shook his head. "It shouldn't. There's no reason for it to. In fact, the parabatai rune is probably the only rune that will stay."

"Okay, good," Alec said, relieved. "So when do we need to go meet with the Seelie Court?"

"We should actually head out soon. We should probably go ahead and get ready. You know those formal black and silver clothes I pointed out last week to you?" Alec nodded. "Go put them on with one of those protective body suits under them."

"Okay," Alec agreed, and went to his room to do exactly that. Once he was dressed, he observed himself in the huge mirror in his room. He looked a lot like a king – well, except for his hair. He attempted to make it less messy, but there was only so much he could do.

He had just decided that his hair was as good as it was going to get when Lucifer made his way into the room. The fallen angel was wearing gold and white. He had a gold crown in his hair, and he was holding one of Alec's crowns in his hands.

Alec allowed Lucifer to put the crown on his head, and the fallen angel looked into the mirror with an approving nod. "We look formidable and of our rank. Good."

Alec turned towards him. "What else do we need?"

"Put on your concealed belt, and that's all you need. I have a courtesy gift for the Queen of the Court." He held up a velvet emerald green bag that looked incredibly expensive.

Alec nodded, and he wondered what was inside the bag. He didn't question it, though. "Are we entering through the pond entrance?"

Lucifer got a superior look on his face. "We are not showing up soaking wet. We shall use the entrance directly into the meeting room. The Queen already knows we will enter that way."

"There's an entrance into the meeting room?" Alec asked, following Lucifer when the fallen angel started making his way towards the exit of the building. "How come I've never been able to use it before?"

"Because you didn't used to be the King of Hell."

"Oh, okay. Hey, Magnus mentioned something about translator runes. Can I get something like that?"

Lucifer looked at him in fond exasperation. "I had wanted it to be a surprise, but oh well. I am in the midst of carving the necessary runes into a ring for you."

"Thank you, then." Alec left it at that, and they traveled in comfortable silence into Central Park. They went in the general direction of the lake, but they veered off to the left, going into highly warded trees. They'd walked maybe another five minutes when Alec saw a massive tree that seemed to almost shine.

"This is it," Lucifer told him, gesturing at the tree with a regal motion. The fallen angel walked up to the tree and whispered something to it. Suddenly, the tree shuddered and it started to _unwind_. In less than a minute, a set of stairs revealed themselves.

Lucifer entered first and Alec followed him. The tree closed back behind him, but the walls were glowing a faint gold-green light that let them see. The stairs only went about thirty feet down before opening up.

It took Alec a second to get a good view, but when he finally did, he was slightly awed. The ground and walls seemed to be made out of an actual tree, but that was insane because the room was easily fifty feet across. The ceiling was made of leaves, about forty feet up, and there were vines and moss growing down onto the walls. There were fireflies glinting high in the air, illuminating what moonstone and shining lamps weren't.

Sitting in an ornate throne with four regally dressed elves on either side was the Seelie Queen, all of which had weapons. The Queen was wearing a leaf-green dress and there was a gold vine-like crown resting in her scarlet hair. While she would normally be very beautiful, the cold and calculating look in her eyes paired with her predatory smile made her look intimidating.

Thankfully, Lucifer and he were not so easily intimidated. Lucifer put a charming smile on his face and he stepped forward with the emerald bag. He kissed the Queens offered hand, and gave her the bag. "A gift for you, Queen."

Alec followed Lucifer's example and pressed a kiss to the Queen's hand, feeling slightly disgusted, but he masked his expression into a friendly one. "It is a pleasure to see you, Queen."

"Lord Lucifer, King Alexander," the Queen greeted, a victorious smile already on her face. "I trust your journey here was safe."

"It was," Lucifer agreed. His hands were clasped behind his back and his posture was perfect, as per usual. "In your letter, you mentioned questions for us?"

"Yes," the Queen responded, and she rested her chin in her hand, eyes glinting. "What exactly are your plans?"

Lucifer seemed very open. "Currently, we are working on rounding up our demons. We have some rogues that we will be dealing with shortly."

"And what of the Clave?" she asked.

Lucifer glanced at Alec, and he took it as his cue. He spoke up. "We have plans to remove the Clave and set up a new non-mundane government system."

The Queen looked pleased and the four elves around her all looked shocked. "Non-mundane, you say?" she commented. "Not just Shadowhunter?"

"No, Queen," Lucifer replied with a charming smile. "There will be a voice for all non-mundanes within the chambers. Your Court will, of course, be offered a seat."

The Queen's smile was bone-chilling, but Lucifer seemed to not notice. Alec forced himself to keep a friendly expression. "I give you the thanks of my people, Lords."

Lucifer and Alec both dipped their heads in recognition. The Queen still had a coldly calculating look in her eyes, but she had a smile on her face and she looked to the emerald bag in her lap. "May I open the gift now?"

"Of course," Lucifer answered graciously. "It is yours to open whenever you so please, Queen."

The Queen smirked slightly, and her slim hands opened the bag. After a moment, she pulled out a handled mirror. It was made of dark wood that had little glowing green dots in it. It had amber-colored stones encrusted on the glass, and it was an obviously expensive mirror.

The Queen's eyes widened and there was a greedy look on her face. "Is this what I think it is?"

Lucifer had a pleased smile on his face. "It is a mirror from the Twilight Forest, crafted by a Twilight Elf and charmed by Lady Esmeralda herself."

The Queen looked into the mirror with an eager expression. She got a triumphant expression on her face.

"What is the mirror telling you, if I may ask, Queen?" Lucifer inquired.

There was a genuine grin on the Queen's face, but it still seemed menacing. "It says that I will soon find myself in a prosperous position and that there is great peace and happiness ahead for my people."

"That is amazing news, Queen," Lucifer proclaimed with an extremely pleased expression. "Was there anything else you needed to ask us?"

"Hm?" She asked, having to force her blue eyes from the mirror. "No, no, that it all. You may see yourselves out."

Both Lucifer and Alec both politely said their goodbyes, and they both gracefully left the Court. Once they were well away from the Court in Central Park, Lucifer started down a path, seeming to have a destination.

Alec stretched slightly, feeling stiff from standing with impeccable posture for an extended period. "That went well enough. The Queen gives me a bad feeling, though."

Lucifer's peaceful expression twisted into an expression of disgust. "The Queen is a manipulative, horrible creature. The only reason she was acting nice to us is because she likes to be on the winning side, and she know that we will win, one way or another."

"Does that mean we have their loyalty?"

"For now," Lucifer said, and wasn't that just ominous? "We probably need to consider getting rid of the conniving fool. Esmeralda and her people are considered Gods to the Seelie, so hopefully we can gain control of them soon enough."

Alec's eyes widened at the casual mention of murder, but then again, he really shouldn't be surprised. "Speaking of Esmeralda, what on earth was the deal with that mirror?"

Lucifer looked amused. "That mirror is incredibly rare and valuable, especially to the Seelie Court. The enchantments on it make it where when you look into it, you get a vague image of your future."

Alec blinked incredulously. "You gave her that when you're planning on _murdering_ her?!"

Lucifer scoffed. "I'm not an idiot, Alexander. The enchantments have been altered so they show only positive things. She will be so confident in her own safety because of that mirror that she won't ever suspect a thing if we do choose to dispose of her."

Alec frowned. "Can we please make a deal to not kill unless it's absolutely necessary, please?"

Lucifer blinked. "I would never kill someone without due cause."

Alec nodded, not entirely sure that he wanted to know what exactly was considered "due cause". He looked around to try to figure out where they were. "Where are we going?"

"We have several hours until we need to head to meet the vampires, so I've arranged a dinner meeting with three very important people that you would benefit from meeting," Lucifer told him. "Oh, and you need to take off your crown for this."

"Oh, okay," Alec said as they stepped out of Central Park, and they both took off their crowns, putting them in Lucifer's expanding bag. Apparently the restaurant they were going to was very close to the entrance to the Seelie Court. He noticed that all of the restaurants they were passing were obviously very expensive and high-class.

Finally, Lucifer led him into an extremely extravagant restaurant. Lucifer easily walked to the host, his stride confident as always. "Table for Morningstar."

The host looked at a list and nodded. "Right this way, sir. The other members of your party have already arrived."

They were led to a table that had a white table cloth and there were three men already sitting down. The three rose when they saw them, and they all offered their greetings, saying "Mr. Morningstar, Mr. Lightwood" instead of their actual titles for the host's benefit.

The host helped them sit. "Your waiter will be with you momentarily, sirs."

Once the host had left, Lucifer spoke. "Alexander, these are three highly important in-the-know people that will be helping us for quite some time. I will allow them to introduce themselves."

"My Lord Alexander," one man greeted. He had dark brown hair and aristocratic features. He was wearing a suit that Alec was pretty positive cost more than most people made in a decade. "My name is Charles Hastings. I am a demon and I have been masquerading as a business man for several hundred years, altering a glamour to change my appearance. I am in charge of most of the finances for this war and I have a strong sway with the downworlder media."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hastings," Alec replied, not sure what to make of the demon, but he seemed friendly enough. He turned to the next person.

The next man, who had skin the color of coal, smiled at him. "King Alexander. I am Theodore Parr and a member of the United Nations. I am in charge of keeping both you and Lord Lucifer updated on many mundane affairs. I am mundane," he added as an after thought. He had an accent that Alec couldn't place.

"Great to meet you, Mr. Parr."

The last man was blonde and was wearing glasses. His suit was obviously of lower quality than the other two, but he seemed happy to be there. He was beaming. "Lord Alexander! It is an honor to finally meet you. My name is Nathaniel Anderson, and I'm a scientist that's been working with Lord Lucifer for some time now. I've been working on making your Antarctica battle-field a reality."

"That's great," Alec said. "Is it coming along okay so far?"

The scientist nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, we've nearly got a solid plan. The wardings against mundanes seeing anything from the satellites is probably the hardest part. We've already made several experimental fight suits that we're extensively testing."

Anderson suddenly looked at Lucifer. "And thank you so much for the necessary materials and extra help. It's looking like adding that blue spider silk-like material into the fabric helped exponentially."

"Glad I could help," Lucifer responded, but before he could say anything else, a waiter came to them with a bottle of red wine and five glasses.

"Good afternoon," the waiter greeted them. He served them all wine, and took out a pad to take their orders. "Have you decided what you'll be having for the evening?"

Anderson, Parr, and Hastings all quickly ordered their food. Lucifer ordered some type of steak, and Alec just said that he would have the same thing as him. As soon as the waiter left, Lucifer turned his attention to Hastings.

"How are our finances and resources looking since your last report?" he asked.

Hastings smiled, taking a sip of his wine. "They are looking great, my lord. We should have more than enough to defeat Lilith and Samael. The money situation is still looking good, even with the large amount funding Dr. Anderson."

"Good." Lucifer swirled his wine glass. "And the media and rumors?"

"The media is unsure. There are a lot of mixed reactions. There are a lot of rumors circulating right now. Some think that you are about to start to Apocalypse. Some think you are still evil. A few think that you've gotten fed up with your demons, but others think you got bored and want to help them cause destruction. One particularity amusing rumor was that you decided to open a school of ballet."

Alec coughed to hide his laugh. "Ballet?"

Lucifer looked amused. "Why, yes, Alexander, that sounds like a lovely idea. I suppose that would make you my lead dancer?"

Alec laughed. "I don't think so, Luce."

He noticed the surprised looks at the nickname, but Lucifer ignored it as their food came. The waiter placed their food in front of them and then left.

The others started eating, and Alec eagerly cut a piece of the steak, feeling his stomach growling. When he bit into the steak, he barely restrained himself from making an inappropriate noise. It was the best steak he had ever had, and it tasted amazing with the lingering taste of a sip of red wine.

Lucifer chewed his own bite. When his mouth was empty, he turned to Parr. "Has the United Nations noticed anything?"

"No," Parr answered, "but I must ask you to reconsider my previous suggestion."

Lucifer frowned, and seemed to see Alec's confused expression. "Parr wants us to officially announce ourselves to the UN and tell them of the downworld."

Alec's eyes widened. "Tell mundanes? There would probably be a bloodbath! They would be terrified and lash out."

"Exactly," Lucifer agreed with a grim look. "I am going to have to decline again, Parr."

"Sir," Parr objected. "I have amended my original proposal and given it much thought. I believe I have found a safe way to reveal the news."

Lucifer thought about it for a moment, then urged him on with a wave of his fork. "Very well. Tell me your thoughts."

Parr stopped eating so that he could use his hands to gesture. "One of the main reasons why I think they should know is so that they know what is going on at any given time. From what information you've given me, it's too common for a rogue downworlder or demon to kill a mundane and the mundane police to get involved, which gets in the way of shadowhunter investigations."

He continued, "On top of that, the downworld is on the brink of complete war. The mundane governments _are_ going to notice that, especially if the more powerful demons get released. We could be talking world-wide earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, unprecedented tornadoes, massive electrical storms, deadly hurricanes." He shook his head. "They need – no, they _have_ – to know."

Lucifer looked somewhat impressed with the man's passionate speech. Alec thought he had a good point. Lucifer tilted his head. "And what of the general populace's knowledge? How would you keep it in the high-ups?"

Parr looked ecstatic that Lucifer seemed to be considering it. "Easy: blood oaths. It would bind them to their silence, so that even if they wanted to tell, they couldn't. They wouldn't even react as negatively if you could get one of the archangels to back you up."

Lucifer hummed. "Gabriel would have to be the one to make the message. The humans are most familiar with him since he heralded Christ's birth."

Parr looked so excited that he might pass out. Anderson and Hastings had yet to say anything, but they seemed to agree. Parr spoke, "Does this mean you'll do it?"

Lucifer paused. "I'll have to think about it. I need to consult with my council, my father, and Gabriel. I will not make a final decision until after that."

"Of course, of course," Parr quickly responded, a wide grin on his face. His pearly white teeth clashed against his very dark skin. "Thank you for considering it, Lord Lucifer."

Suddenly, the waiter was making his way back over to them. Alec realized that they had all finished their food while they had listened to the proposal.

"May I interest any of you with dessert or would you like the bill?" the waiter asked. Alec wondered why he hadn't come over to check on them before, but Lucifer had probably requested it.

"Bill, please," Lucifer requested.

"Yes, sir," the waiter responded and handed over the bill.

Lucifer glanced at the bill and easily passed over a credit card. Alec caught a glimpse of the amount owed – and _please tell him he had imagined that number!_

While Alec was trying to figure out how much a piece of steak cost at the restaurant, he realized the menu hadn't had prices on it. During his internal crisis, Lucifer and the three men said their goodbyes. Suddenly, Alec was being led out of the restaurant by Lucifer.

The sun was just dipping over the horizon when they stepped outside, and Lucifer turned to him with a slight smirk. "Ready to go to meet the vamps?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Alec replied.


	8. Flying First Class

_**A/N: I am so sorry about being a day behind. I got sidetracked with rewriting and posting chapter one. Has anyone been watching Shadowhunters? I have mixed feelings about the show so far, but I think it has potential.**_

 _ **I would like to thank you all so, so much for the support you've shown this story. It means the world to me.**_

 _ **Chapter Song: Chasing the Sun (The Wanted)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I still don't own any recognizable content. As a result, I am still sad.**_

 **~Flying First Class~**

Alec didn't really comprehend how _tired_ he was until Lucifer cheerfully decided they would walk the rest of the way to the vampire nest. His eyes were getting heaver and his feet were dragging with every step forward. His feet were sore from walking so much, and he desperately wanted to curl up and sleep for a few days.

The sun set quickly, casting the busy city in shadows. Alec longed for the days when he could have a nap during the day before any nightly missions.

Lucifer gave him a sidelong look, not slowing his pace. He looked concerned. "What in Father's name is wrong with you?"

Alec felt a rush of irritation. "In case you'd forgotten, I've been up since five o'clock in the morning with about three hours of sleep. I'm exhausted."

Lucifer still looked confused. "But that is a mortal limitation."

Alec _barely_ restrained himself from making a rude remark. "Lucifer, I _am_ a mortal."

"No, you're not," Lucifer claimed.

"Yes, I am."

Lucifer shook his head. "No. You used to be mortal, but now you are immortal and the King of Hell. There is a massive difference. You should be able to go a lot longer without sleep now."

Now Alec was the confused one. "What? How much longer?"

Lucifer shrugged, seeming to observe a clothing store. "It depends. Angels don't need to sleep, unless they're stripped of their grace. Most demons only need to sleep a few hours every week or so. The most powerful demons, like Asmodeus, only need to sleep when they're injured and need the extra energy. I had assumed you were like Asmodeus and just enjoyed sleeping."

Alec stared at Lucifer incredulously, barely sidestepping to avoid a precariously parked car. "You thought that I slept _just because I enjoyed it?!"_

Lucifer looked sheepish. "It is not uncommon. Father knows Belphegor likes to sleep as much as he can get away with."

Alec took a deep breath. "Did you just compare me to the _Prince of Sloth?_ "

"Okay, so that was a bad example," Lucifer conceded. "But that doesn't change the fact that you should need less sleep. Maybe it's psychological?" he mused.

"Psychological?" Alec repeated. "You think I'm sleeping because I think that I should be?"

"It would make sense. That would also mean that you are only feeling sleepy because you think you should after how long you've been without good sleep," Lucifer mused. "You don't seem to be sleepy now, even though you were fifteen minutes ago."

Alec realized with some shock that he was right. "It could just be a burst of energy from debating. We don't know if your theory is right."

Lucifer shrugged. "We can figure out later. For now, though, we're a little over half a mile from the nest, and we don't need to broadcast our conversations."

Alec nodded in agreement. In New York City, the vampires wouldn't be able to hear them quite just yet, but out in the country with little to no noise, a vampire could hear a heartbeat a dozen miles away. He found himself shivering a little at the thought. To him, vampires had always been the most unnerving downworlders.

Lucifer pretended not to notice and passed over both his shadow cloak and his crown. In the next movement, the fallen angel was wearing his own pale gold crown.

Alec slipped his own crown on and pulled his cloak around himself. He naturally started to walk quieter. The shoes that both he and Lucifer were wearing were made from the leather of a livestock in one of the dark realms. The thing about the dark realms was that the creatures living there were _made_ for stealth.

Lucifer had already put his regal mask in place – a mixture of natural superiority and amusement that always made people feel like they were being laughed at.

Alec went ahead and made his own expression look a little more regal. Unlike Lucifer, he just wiped most emotion off his face except for light curiosity and the barest hint of amusement. Granted, the amusement was hard to wipe off anyway once Lucifer started his dramatics.

They both slowed to a fluid stop once they were in front of the nest. They silently waited, staying still. It was effortless for Lucifer, but Alec had the horrible habit of something always itching when he was supposed to stay still. Right now, it was his left eyebrow. Go figure.

They didn't have to wait long, though. Suddenly there was a light swoosh of air, and a darkly clad figure was falling off the roof of the nest. The man landed in a bracing crouch and was back on his feet in the next second.

The vampire, as he was definitely a vampire, had a light smirk on his young-looking face. He had curly black hair, and his skin was honey colored. He held himself with the grace of a predator.

Lucifer watched the vampire unblinkingly. "Raphael."

Raphael flashed his teeth in an almost excited manner. "Lord Lucifer," he agreed, in a formal lilt. Intense eyes flicked to Alec next. "King Alexander. It is an _honor_ to welcome you to the largest nest in New York."

Lucifer seemed amused at the silky commentary. "And we thank you for having us." He looked around in an obvious look of distaste. "If we could take this inside . . ?"

Raphael grinned. "But of course."

As the vampire turned around, Alec saw a strange scar his chest in the shape of a crucifix. He followed with a frown on his face, wondering what could have caused the scar. Crucifixes burned vampires, but had the vampire been captured and tortured, or was something different going on.

If he had been captured and tortured, why would he wear clothes that obviously showed it? Maybe he'd killed his kidnappers? Still, though, wouldn't a vampire higher in the hierarchy want to conceal the fact that someone had managed to capture him?

He shook of the thoughts when they entered the nest – amusingly named _Hotel Dumort_. The first floor area was open. It extended up multiple floors, and on each floor there was a balcony overlooking it. Gathered on each balcony was hundred of vampires, all curiously watching the newcomers.

Lucifer seemed to drink in the attention with a sardonic smirk up. Alec just felt somewhat uncomfortable with that many people looking at him like he was a puzzle to be figured out.

"Friends," Raphael said in a normal toned voice. All of the vampires would have heard him if he had been whispering. "We have important guests this night. Presenting Lord Lucifer and King Alexander."

There was silence for a moment until a female vampire on the third floor wolf-whistled, and suddenly cheers were going up, the other vampires not needing any other excuse to be loud.

Raphael had a blank face and a light smirk when he turned, but Alec could see exasperated fondness in his eyes. "Follow me. They will be like this for the rest of the night. We can have more privacy in my office."

They followed the nest leader to a more secluded area. They went into a lavishly decorated area, and they were both gestured to sit down. The second the large oak doors closed, a heavy ward slid into place, rippling across Alec's skin like water.

Lucifer's eyebrows rose. "That is a very powerful privacy ward. Who did it?"

Raphael easily lowered himself into his own chair with a lazy smile. "They started getting put on this room a few hundred years ago by several different sources. We just had them updated by Magnus Bane a couple of months ago. He also touched up the mundane repelling one."

Alec carefully schooled his surprise. Well, Magnus would definitely be a good person to be on the council if the vampires trusted him enough to do their wards.

"Ah, yes," Lucifer commented. "Magnus Bane is certainly a powerful warlock."

Raphael nodded in agreement, and Alec realized that he hadn't breathed once in the time they'd been talking. The vampire leaned forward slightly, with a predatory grin. "Shall we get straight to business?" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "There have been interesting rumors circulating about the two of you."

Lucifer smirked lightly, and he leaned back in his chair. Somehow, it seemed more like he was in a throne than an armchair. "I can't say it's all true, but rumors often have a basis in truth."

Raphael had a contemplating look in his eyes. "Are you truly taking control of the demons."

"Yes," Lucifer agreed.

"What of the rumors of a new government being set up? The fae are saying they've been offered seats," he stated.

"All true," Alec said.

Raphael looked intrigued. "And how would this government run? How would it even be set up?"

Alec answered. "It won't be difficult to get it set up. I'm sure you've noticed that the Clave is a biased and flawed system. It won't be hard to get rid of."

"I certainly agree with that," the vampire commented. His face was blank and he had the normal stillness of the Night Children, but he seemed almost thrilled.

"As for the new government," he continued, "Lucifer and I already have most of it planned out. There will be equal representation offered for all non-mundanes inhabiting the earth, including shadowhunters, downworlders, and demons."

Raphael let out a huffed laugh, leaning back. He shook his head numbly, a stunned grin on his face. "I had heard something like that through my sources, but this is more than I ever expected. So the laws and standards would be the same for everyone? What of the current laws?"

"Everyone will follow the same laws," Lucifer confirmed, voice velvety smooth. "As for the current laws, they will be completely stripped. I have several of my politically involved followers already drafting a new system of laws. If you have any suggestions, you are welcome to mail them to me," he added. "I will see that they get to the correct people."

A smirk curled on Raphael's face. "Believe me, I will." He started playing with a pen that had blood red ink.

Wow, Alec thought. They really did take the stereotypes about blood to whole new levels, didn't they?

Suddenly, Raphael paused and a slightly envious look came over his face. "There were rumors of the Seelie Court receiving a gift?"

Lucifer seemed to be expecting this. One eyebrow rose. "Word does get around fast in the circles," he mused. "Yes, I gifted them something. Unfortunately, the vampires are split up among too many clans for me to be able to give the vampires as a whole a gift yet."

The fallen angel paused, probably for dramatic sakes. "Of course, once the new government gets set up, it will go to the spokespeople of the vampires."

Raphael leaned forward, a greedy look on his face. "Oh? And what is this gift?"

"A chalice," Lucifer said, and his voice was lower and mysterious.

"A chalice," Raphael repeated, leaning forward. "What kind of chalice?"

Lucifer seemed to be enjoying this greatly. "There is a realm in Hell known as the Realm of Blood. It is filled with lakes and rivers full of the richest blood in the universe. In fact, if enough is consumed, it offers partial resistance to sunlight."

"Partial resistance?!"

Lucifer nodded. "You would only be able to be outside for a couple of hours with covering clothes, but you would get weak, not burn, so long as you went back inside soon enough."

Raphael's eyes were wide and he was nearly salivating. His eyes definitely looked greedy now. " _Dios mio._ And to have access to it, you have to be a spokesperson for the vampire nests?"

"Yes," Lucifer confirmed. "And that is why I approached you. You have great potential to be one. You have extensive resources and an actual moral code." He paused. "Unfortunately, the positions will be voted in, and I don't think you have enough vampires on your side."

Raphael looked devastated.

"Of course," Lucifer continued, "I have ways to help you if it's something you really want to do."

"Of course, Lord Lucifer," Raphael said, sounding very respectful. "There would be no greater honor."

"Excellent." Suddenly, Lucifer seemed to be the predatory one. "You will be traveling a lot. Your job will be to inform all of the major nests around the world of my presence and plans. You will be making weekly reports to both Alexander and I regarding your progress and the opinions of the vampires."

Raphael looked slightly stunned. "I – of course. Can I just make my reports in person so I can keep tabs on my nest?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Lord Lucifer, King Alexander. I must take my leave now. I have to prepare if I'm to leave tomorrow night." Raphael's eyes were darting slight, seeming to think of everything he needed to do.

Lucifer rose and Alec followed. "Good luck." He paused. "And do know that even though this will help you, you will be competing with vampires centuries older than you. I cannot guarantee you a position."

Raphael nodded, and quickly led them out of Hotel Dumort. He flashed his fangs in a cheerful expression. "I will look forward to my first report."

Lucifer nodded, and Alec just felt exasperated. Lucifer had just shamelessly manipulated the vampire. The ridiculous thing was that Raphael had to know that, but the vampire didn't care. Vampires would go to ridiculous lengths for blood, it would seem.

. . .

When they got back to the penthouse, it was way too late – or early, depending on your view point. Lucifer's theory be damned, he was _exhausted._ The second the elevator doors opened, he was bolting for his bedroom. The universe had other ideas.

A hand closed around his arm. Asmodeus's face came into view. "Woah, little lord. You need to hear this."

Alec made a disgruntled noise, but walked back to where Lucifer was waiting. The fallen angel was watching Asmodeus carefully. "What is it?"

"You need to go to the shadowhunter headquarters in Dubai now," he told them, expression blank.

Lucifer frowned. "What's happened?"

"I don't know, my lord," Asmodeus said, and he looked aggravated and more than a little helpless. "But they sent a fire message that it was incredibly important and to not take a portal."

Lucifer made a disgruntled noise, but seemed resigned. "Great. I can't fly us; I need to keep my strength up. We're going to need to take the jet." He grumbled. "Asmodeus, can you keep things going here, and cancel the meetings with my council, Alexander's council, and the werewolves?"

"Of course, my lord," Asmodeus agreed. "I already packed your bags and sent them to your jet. There is a taxi waiting downstairs to take you to the air strip."

"Thank you, Asmodeus," Lucifer said. "Come on, Alexander. It seems the night isn't over for us yet."

Alec seriously felt like tossing himself to the floor and refusing to go, but he knew that it wouldn't accomplish anything. Lucifer would just pick him up and force him to go.

"Okay," he sulkily agreed.

Less than an hour later, they were boarding a private jet. Alec looked around the sleek interior with awe. It was very high-tech. For someone who could barely work his cell phone, it was a shock.

The area they entered consisted of more than a dozen large seating areas. Each contained a lavish chair, a place to sit things like papers or food, and a massive television. There were also lamps attached to the tables. His eyes widened. "Where'd you get a plane?"

Lucifer smiled mysteriously. "I have many contacts in the mundane government. It was not hard to acquire once I realized that portals would not always be convenient."

Alec lowered himself into one of the white leather seats. Oh Angel, the chair was comfortable. He was already slipping asleep, and he wondered what the strange nobs on the seats did. "Why can't we portal, anyway?"

Lucifer directed Alec to buckle up, which he did. "Portal can be traced by the Clave. Chances are, this is a . . . touchy meeting that needs to stay top secret. We need to be subtle while we're there."

"No dramatic entrances for you, then," Alec mumbled, half asleep. The cushions of his chair felt heavenly, a warm embrace.

Lucifer huffed a laugh. "Get some sleep, Alexander. Oh, you do know there are beds on this jet, right?"

Alec hummed, not feeling like getting up. He was asleep in seconds.

. . .

When Alec next woke up, the plane was in the air. He blearily looked around. Lucifer had relocated to a large table and was skimming through various reports and occasionally making marks on a separate piece of paper. He turned his attention away from Lucifer to look out the window.

He must have slept for several hours, based off the breathtaking sight. They were above the ocean and the sun was shining. In some places, the view of the ocean was blocked by massive clouds. A set of clouds that must have been hundreds of miles away were darkly colored and beautiful bolts of lightning were striking through them.

"You're finally awake, I see," Lucifer commented.

Alec turned towards him. "Yeah. How long was I out, anyway?"

Lucifer looked at a clock by a television screen. "Oh, about four or so hours."

Alec blinked in shock. "How do I have so much energy if I only slept for four hours?"

Lucifer smirked. "Maybe my theory was right. I still think part of it is psychological."

Alec rolled his eyes and took off his seat belt, rising to his feet. "Yeah, right. Where's the bathroom?"

Lucifer pointed him in the correct direction. As Alec passed through more of the plane, he was more surprised. The jet was massive and way more high-tech than he had initially assumed. There were televisions everywhere that were nearly paper-thin. In one area of the plane was what looked like a war-room, with a map of Idris currently pulled up. It was holographic.

Finally, he came across a bathroom. Alec had never actually flown anywhere before, but he was pretty positive that the bathrooms weren't supposed to be this large. He decided to not questions it.

When he got back to the seating area where Lucifer was, the fallen angel had started a stack of papers on the table to where Alec had been sitting. Seeing his confusion, Lucifer spoke up. "It's some papers on the customs and government of Dubai. You need to do some research. We still have over five hours until we land."

Alec's eyes widened. Wow, this was going to be a long flight, wasn't it? He lowered himself into the unnaturally comfortable seat, resigning himself to research.

Lucifer had turned back to his papers, and Alec had just started his research when his phone buzzed. He opened it in confusion, and a grin slid onto his face when it showed Magnus's name.

 _Would you happen to know why Raphael stormed into my loft a few hours ago, raved about a chalice, and then demanded I open a portal to Europe for him?_

Alec made an amused noise, catching Lucifer's attention. The fallen angel looked at him with an unimpressed expression before shooting a look to the stack of papers he was supposed to be reading. "Sorry, I just need to respond to this really quick."

 _Yeah, sorry_ _about that_ _. Lucifer told him about this chalice that the vampire reps will have access to in the new government, and suffice to say, Raphael really wants that chalice. I can't really talk right now, though. Dear old Luci is giving me the evil eye; I'm supposed to be researching right now._

He quickly turned his phone off, sitting it on the table beside him, knowing that he didn't need any distractions right now. Who knows what was waiting on them in Dubai. Any information could be priceless.

. . .

When they arrived in Dubai, the sun was setting because of the time difference. Alec was in awe. He had never been anywhere but New York City, Hell, and Idris, and he could barely even remember Idris.

With the sunset shining off all the beautiful, lit up buildings, the sight truly seemed impossible. Whereas he was practically gaping and spinning around, trying to see everything, Lucifer seemed unaffected.

The fallen angel was watching him in amusement. "The novelty of cities wears off after so many years."

Alec stepped away from the jet, and silently thought that he would never get tired of this. He couldn't imagine being unaffected by the sight of beautiful things.

Lucifer started to walk in the direction of the transportation he had arranged. They had both forgone their normal formal attire for clothes that were more fitting for the temperature of the Middle East.

They were both dressed in gold, white, and a sandy color, which felt odd to Alec. He was still used to the shadowhunters color scheme. White was for mourning, and gold was the color of a bride's dress. Still, though, Alec wasn't even technically a shadowhunter anymore, and he would have to get used to wearing the colors.

Lucifer had adamant that they respect the culture, which Alec had no problem with, so they were covering most of their bodies. They were wearing long sleeves and long pants. Thankfully, the material was breezy, so they didn't feel hot at all.

The only thing that really made them seem all that royal were the crowns they were wearing and the way they were walking. Alec noticed that they were still dressed differently than most people they saw, but that was to be expected.

It was getting dark by the time they reached the institute there. Going by what he'd read, he knew that the meeting wasn't likely to actually take place inside the institute, as shadowhunters and downworlders got along a lot better in Dubai. In fact, there were regular meetings between the two to make sure their relations were good.

His suspicion was proven correct when a man walked out of the impressive mansion-like building beside the institute and quickly approached them. The man's eyes were darting around nervously like he was looking for something.

Alec was immediately grateful for the thin band of leather Lucifer had put on his wrist when the man started to talk. Lucifer had warned him that the band was temporary and would not work for more than a few days.

Because of the leather band, he was able to understand the man's quick paced Arabic. "Lord Lucifer, King Alexander. Thank you for coming. If you would please follow me quickly. I don't want word of this getting out."

Lucifer and Alec exchanged a look as they followed the man inside. The second they were out of view from the outside, the man slumped in on himself. When he next spoke, it was in flawless English. "My apologies, my lords. It is imperative that this matter be treated with the utmost secrecy."

"And what is this matter?" Lucifer inquired.

The man shook his head. "It is not the time to say. Come, and you shall learn. Our leader wishes to speak to you."

Lucifer and Alec followed him. They passed dozens of people on their way, and Alec noticed that only about a quarter of them were shadowhunters. They finally passed into a massive office that was lavishly decorated. Inside, two men were waiting. The man escorting them quickly left, closing the door behind him.

"Lord Lucifer, King Alexander," the shadowhunter greeted. The woman, a warlock, was silent. "Thank you for making haste in getting here."

"Of course," Lucifer agreed, and Alec was sidetracked by the view of the institute out the window. "What is of such concern to be surrounded by so much secrecy?"

The shadowhunter looked towards the door before looking at the warlock. The warlock nodded and waved a hand, a thick ward sliding into place. The shadowhunter leaned forward. "I am Omar and this is my wife Sarah. I am the leader of the shadowhunters in Dubai, and Sarah is the unofficial leader of the downworlders."

Alec's eyebrows rose. He decided to focus on the less touchy subject. "I didn't realize that there were any leaders of downworlders with the various rivalries."

Sarah shook her head. "The rivalries have not taken place here in more than a thousand years. It is much more common in Europe and the Americas."

"Interesting as that is," Lucifer said. "I take it that you have something important to tell us?"

"Yes," Omar agreed. "My wife and I have spent some time considering this and getting opinions from our people, but we have finally made a very difficult decision."

When he wasn't anymore forthcoming, Alec spoke up. "What very difficult decision?"  
Omar smiled. "We have decided to put the entirety of Dubai behind you in your efforts. When you demon Asmodeus came to talk with us a couple of weeks ago, he gave us much to think about, and I must say I agree with your plans."

Alec felt flabbergasted, and Lucifer looked delighted. "And how would you be helping us, Omar?"

Omar and Sarah exchanged a grin. "We can help recruit other institutes. We have a good feel for those that would easily convert. Once you go through with overthrowing the Clave, we will help set up the new government as much as we can, and we are willing to be an example of how shadowhunters and downworlders can work in harmony."

Omar paused. "If it comes to it, we can also offer money. As I'm sure you've noticed, we are not lacking for money."

Lucifer grinned. "Thank you. This is much appreciated. I –"

But whatever the fallen angel was about to say was cut off by a vivid strike of lightning falling from the sky and striking the institute next door. It was blindingly bright, and the ground vibrated with the force.

Alec could have sworn for a second that he saw the silhouette of an angel's wings. The assembled group looked on in shock as another, then another, then another strike of lightning hit the institute until a total of seven strikes hit.

Pale gold light rippled over the building before it rebounded outwards, washing over the city. Alec was hit by the familiar feeling of Raziel's grace. He quickly looked to Sarah to make sure the energy didn't hurt downworlders, but she seemed incredibly awed and peaceful.

The light started to fade out. Omar shook his head in shock. "What was that?"

"That," Lucifer said, "Was my brother Raziel blessing your institute." He shook his head. "And people always accuse me of being the dramatic one."

Alec refrained from commenting on that.

"Look at it, Omar," Sarah said. "It looks so . . . welcoming now. Normally I can't even look at it without feeling weaker, but now . . ."

Lucifer's eyebrows rose. "I wonder . . . hm. Sarah, would you mind entering the institute and seeing how your power levels are being affected? I have a theory, and since you can't be hurt, you're the best option."

Sarah agreed easily enough, and they made their way to the institute. Sarah started to enter the building. Five steps in, she stopped and turned around with a shocked smile on her face. "My power levels are the same as they would be outside of this building!"

Lucifer grinned. "It seems my brother has outdone himself. He's letting downworlders and demons having access to the accepting institutes so long as there are no ill intentions."

. . .

Four hours later, and they were back on the plane. Alec stretched himself out in his seat, and he had managed to talk Lucifer into letting him watch a movie. He had settled on one of the Marvel ones that Max was always raving about.

He was fifteen minutes into the movie when he remembered that he'd turned his phone off on the flight to Dubai. He turned it back on easily enough, and a loud curse left his mouth when he did.

He ripped the ear buds out of his ears and stared at the screen blankly. He had 57 missed calls and 143 text messages. His eyes were wide, and Lucifer looked up. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Alec replied, before quickly calling Isabelle, the one who had left the most messages.

 _"_ _Alec,"_ she answered, sounding panicked. " _You had better have a good reason for not picking up your phone. Where are you?_ "

"I'm not sure," he answered. "Lucifer and I just flew out of Dubai. Why?"

Isabelle let out a strangled noise. " _You know what? I'm not even going to question it. Just put me on speaker phone and hope that Lucifer can make a portal."_

Feeling very, very worried, he waved over Lucifer. "It's on speaker now, Izzy. What's wrong?"

 _"_ _The inquisitor came in last night and arrested Jace for treason. He's in the Silent City, a distress call just came up, and to make matters worse, Simon is missing."_

Alec and Lucifer exchanged a wide-eyed look. Lucifer leaned forward, and when he spoke, his voice was like icy shards. "They locked up Jace for _treason_?! Oh, they are going to understand why I'm feared when I get there."

 _"_ _Great. Please come as soon as you possibly can. We need all the help we can get."_ There was a pause and then faint voices. " _I've got to go. We're answering the distress call. This can't possibly be good. Hurry!"_

Just like that, she hung up. Alec felt a mixture of horror and restlessness. He turned to Lucifer frantically. "Please tell me we can be there in the next ten minutes."

"Yes, but it will take a good portion of my strength flying us there. My wings are still not up to par. I should be fine enough to fight, though."

"Great."

And just like that, Lucifer grabbed Alec and they were gone.


	9. The Gates of Hell

_**A/N: First off, I want to apologize for the long wait. Real life has been rough on me lately, and I'm having a lot of trouble writing lately. Hopefully I'll come out of the slump, but I have decided that quality is better than quantity, so I'm not going to make any promises about when the next chapter will be posted. I will be going back and editing some of the previous chapters, though.**_

 _ **Thank you so much to all that have been reviewing, favoriting, and following. It means the world to me, and I can never thank you enough.**_

 _ **Chapter Song: Radioactive (Imagine Dragons)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own it. Yeah, still not happy about it.**_

 **~The Gates of Hell~**

For a split second, Alec's world was dominated by a kaleidoscope of wildly swirling colors. He clung desperately to Lucifer, fearing he would get sucked into nothingness. Thankfully, it was over as quickly as it started and he was suddenly standing in a cemetery.

He was vaguely aware that he was near the New York entrance to the Silent City, but he was distracted by Lucifer hunching over, breathing like he'd run a marathon. "Are you okay?"

Lucifer waved him off, still catching his breath. The shadows around them changed strangely, and Alec realized with shock that Lucifer must be stretching out his wings. The fallen angel started to straighten himself up after a minute. "I'm fine; my wings are just a little rusty is all."

Alec pretended to not notice how shaky and breathy the statement was, instead turning towards the entrance. There were several indentions in the dirt from multiple people's shoes. He cautiously made his way forward. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Lucifer said, strolling confidently forward. He seemed to have regained his breath and strength from the flight around half the world. "But we're going to find out."

"Shouldn't we wait for the Clave to get here?" Alec asked. "So we have some backup or something?"

Lucifer scoffed. "They would get in our way. Besides, we both have bounties over our heads, so we need to keep our distance right now. Let's go."

Without waiting for an answer, Lucifer enthusiastically opened the doorway and all but glided down the stairs. Alec warily followed him, a hand going for his bow.

The Silent City was always silent, of course, but there were normally signs of movement and life. When they first walked out of the entrance, Alec felt a chill run down his spine and he immediately knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.

When Lucifer made a distasteful noise and stared at the bone-white pillars, he realized why. There was blood staining everything and dead Silent Brother bodies were littering the ground. It looked like they'd been ripped to shreds. Alec felt bile rise in his throat at the grotesque scene. Sure, he had never like the Silent Brothers, but no one deserved a death like that.

He then noticed the reapers. They were _everywhere_. Some were still swooping towards the ceiling with bright souls in their hands, but there were dozens standing still in place, watching Alec and Lucifer with emotionless solid white eyes. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rising.

Lucifer's lips were twisted in an odd expression as he smoothly made his way through the street they were on, easily stepping over the bodies. He seemed slightly regretful but not surprised at all.

Alec abruptly remembered that Lucifer had started a war against Heaven and slaughtered hundreds of his siblings for not agreeing with him. He had purposefully created demons that took enjoyment from torturing and destroying humans in any and all way possible. The fallen angel had allowed his creations to run amok the humans, feeding them horrible ideas, and leading to countless deaths. He shuddered, trying to push the thoughts away. Lucifer had changed.

Alec tried not to think what the minced, red colored piles were as he quickly hurried after Lucifer. The stench was stomach-turning. It smelt like death, blood, and the rancid fumes of demons.

Lucifer was starting to walk faster as he got closer to the main building in the city, and Alec frowned at him, feeling the strange energy he was radiating. When Lucifer glanced at him, he realized what it was. Lucifer was angry – no, _furious_ beyond any human's comprehension. The air around him was practically sparking from his energy.

When Lucifer reached forward to slam open the doors, a large gust of wind pushed out, and Alec's eyes widened as he saw the dark shadow of Lucifer's wings. His wings were still charred and mangled, but there were more bright and beautiful feathers now than ever before.

Then Alec realized what had caused Lucifer to let his wings out. Raziel's sword was missing. His breath stuttered to a halt. " _No_ ," he whispered. "Oh, _please_ , no."

Lucifer's wings were bristling with rage. He spun sharply on his heel, making his way instead to the entrance of the prison. His movements were lithe and predatory – ever movement controlled with the utmost precision. Even though he knew Lucifer would never hurt him, Alec felt a sliver of fear.

"We're getting Jace out of here, and then we are going to stop this _now._ " Lucifer's voice was so cold that it could have given frostbite to an iceberg.

"Okay," Alec agreed, sure that it would be a bad idea to say anything else to Lucifer right now. Besides, he was beyond worried about Jace. He should be fine, since his parabatai rune hadn't acted up, but there was no telling what the blond had been through.

Lucifer descended into the dungeons, a swirling mass of icy fury and anger, shadowed wings still splayed out in an offensive position. Alec followed him, docking an arrow on the way. The smell of demons became stronger.

Lucifer immediately started making his way into the cells and Alec felt confused. "How do you know we're going the right way?"

Lucifer didn't answer for a long second. His hands curled into fists and his wings flexed. "Because Jace is the only living being in the entire city."

Alec almost stopped walking. His stomach dropped, and his eyes got wide. "But . . . but there are _thousands_ of Silent Brothers in the city every second."

Lucifer looked at him grimly. "I know."

While Alec dimly followed behind Lucifer now, his head was spinning and he felt sick. That meant either Lilith or Valentine – or _both_ – had ordered their demons to murder thousands and thousands of people for that sword. And if that's what they were able and willing to do just to get the sword, what would happen once they were able to summon demons straight out of Hell with it? He felt dizzy.

Alec didn't snap out of his horrified trance until Lucifer slowed his pace. Laying on the floor was a lifeless Brother Jeremiah. It looked as if every bone in the man's body had been snapped like toothpicks. Alec felt lost. He had seen this man so much over the years that he had seem like the one creepy, unnerving constant, and now he was dead.

He shook the thought off when he noticed the slumped figure in the cell in front of Jeremiah's body. The stark of golden blond hair easily identified the figure as a nearly catatonic Jace.

Before Alec could do something silly, like uselessly tug at the bars, Lucifer stepped forward, made a smooth movement with his hand, and a white light slashed through the bars, cutting through them like butter. Alec quickly pulled them away and jumped into the cell.

Jace blearily looked up, but he had a dazed expression on his face. He swayed slightly and his manacles clinked together as he shifted, drawing Alec's attention to his bloody wrists. Jace smiled blearily. "So, if I'm dead, do I still get to be on the Council? A kind of Heaven link or something?"

Alec huffed a relieved laugh. "You're not dead, you idiot."

"I'm not?" Jace tilted his head the side in confusion, looking a lot like a puppy. He winced suddenly. "My head is killing me."

Lucifer suddenly leaned forward and tapped Jace lightly on the temple. Light pulsed under his fingertips and flowed over Jace's body, getting rid of any scratches and injuries he had. His manacles fell off.

Suddenly Jace was more alert and he suddenly surged to his feet, a look of panic overtaking his features. "We need to get out of here _right now_ before those _things_ come back!"

"We will," Lucifer said, analytically watching Jace. "But first tell us what happened. We need to know now before the Clave gets here."

Jace eyes were flickering through the darkness, and his fingers kept going towards his belt where he normally kept a seraph blade. Alec passed over one of his knives, and Jace calmed a little. "Valentine came with demons. I don't know how many. I heard screaming – it kept happening for nearly an hour, then it got deadly quiet. Valentine showed up, told me he spared me since I'm his child."

Alec's eyebrows rose. " _What?!"_

Jace looked startled, then resigned. "Oh, did you not know? I'm _Valentine's_ son."

Lucifer made a derisive noise. "No, you are not, but we don't have time to get into that right now. We need to get out of here. The Clave is about to enter the graveyard and we need to meet them there – make a flowery speech or something."

Alec and Jace both gaped at Lucifer, but the fallen angel's expression did not change, and he started to quickly walk back towards the entrance of the Silent City. Helplessly, Jace and Alec followed. Alec's brain was racing. If Jace thought he was Valentine's son – falsely, apparently – that would definitely explain how Jace and Clary had been acting around each other. They thought they were siblings but were practically in love with each other.

When they were back to the staircase, Alec realized that Lucifer had made his wings invisible again. They started to make their way up the stairs, and Alec's eyebrows furrowed when he realized that it was bright outside. That couldn't be right. It was supposed to still be dark.

"Witchlight," Jace observed out loud, and Alec realized he was right. There must be a huge amount of shadowhunters outside then. Alec stepped forward to stand beside Lucifer with Jace just behind them as they stepped outside. He had to rapidly blink when he was nearly blinded by the bright witchlight.

When he could see again he saw about forty shadowhunters, including the Inquisitor, staring at them incredulously. His family members had conflicted expressions on their faces.

"Now," Lucifer said, but his voice wasn't the right tone for a 'flowery speech' – it was deadly cold. "I'm tiring of your pathetic games, and this has gone on long enough. While you have needlessly wasted your time and resources chasing after Alexander and me, you have allowed Valentine to gather power."

He gestured towards the Silent City entrance. "Now, because of you getting in my way and making things more complicated by floundering around to protect your _pathetic_ government, thousands of Silent Brothers are _dead_. When Alexander and I showed up to answer the distress call, there was a single living being inside."

He stepped to the side slightly to reveal Jace. "And the only reason he is alive is because of Valentine wanting to play mind games and distract you imbecilic shadowhunters. How many more are going to have to die for you to realize that Alexander and I are not your enemies?"

The gathered shadowhunters shifted nervously, looking at the Inquisitor. Imogen was scowling, but she had a shaken look in her eyes. "You expect us to believe you're not the enemy when you are fugitives, have just broken a prisoner out of his cell, and left a trail of death behind you?"

Lucifer was watching her unblinkingly, his gaze challenging. "I am a fugitive because of my past, Alexander is a fugitive because of his God-approved role, and Jace is a fugitive because of his false parents. The only thing I see here is an archaic government crumbling into _dust_ under pressure."

Imogen blinked, startled and insulted. "The Clave is _not_ crumbling. The only one here that is trying to do that is _you_."

A chilled smirk tugged at the corners of Lucifer's mouth, and the furious look in the fallen angel's eyes was enough to make all of the shadowhunters start to step back in fear. "I would deny it, but I am told that lying is a _sin_." He purred the word.

Imogen seemed to gather herself. "So you admit that you're responsible for this!"

Lucifer sighed. "No, you dimwit. I _am_ saying that I want the Clave gone, but that is as a result of happenings like _this_. You are a member of a useless, biased government that even _I_ balk at."

"To clarify," Alec added helpfully. "The Clave is stupid, and we fully plan on getting rid of it as soon as we deal with Valentine and the rebelling demons. You're welcome."

"But –"

 _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

Lightning shot through the sky in blinding strikes and thunder shook the ground. The shadowhunters all crouched into defensive positions. Imogen's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

Lucifer had a put upon look on his face. " _That_ , you ridiculous human, was my father summoning Alexander and I. We shall be off now."

Lucifer grabbed both Alec and Jace _,_ and then they were back in the colorful vortex. They reappeared in front of a familiar door, where Lucifer quickly knocked. A moment later, a sleep-ruffled Magnus opened the door. His hair was sticking in odd directions, he wasn't wearing makeup, and he was wearing some type of robe. "How –"

Magnus's eyes widened when he saw who was there. He sighed lightly, stepping to the side. "Come in, come in. Did you have to bring the shadowhunter?"

Alec started to shrug, but Lucifer cut him off. "You take the shadowhunter, keep him safe from the Clave, and be ready for when we come back. Thanks."

Then he and Lucifer were back in the vortex, to faint protests form Magnus and Jace indignantly saying "This _shadowhunter_ has a name!"

When they landed again, Lucifer was hunched over again. Alec put a hand on his shoulder in concern. "Are you okay?"  
Lucifer waved him off again. "Yeah, it just takes a lot of energy flying to Heaven."

" _Heaven_?" Alec dumbly repeated, looking around him with wide eyes. It just looked like they were in a room that had an extraordinarily large amount of white and blue decorations.

Lucifer nodded, making his way to a door. He swung the door open with presenting arms. "Welcome to Heaven."

Alec's breath caught. You know the man that described Heaven as golden roads and pearly gates? Yeah, he was bad at describing things. It was set up in a way resembling impossible cities. Everything was bright and lively. The buildings were a white stone that reflected every color imaginable, there were little streams full of impossibly blue water, and the roads were made the most beautiful shade of gold Alec had ever seen.

There were trees scattered around. Some of them looked like lavish trees from earth, but others had sparkling trunks and gemstone colored leaves. There were whispy clouds swirling in the distance, and there were angels flying through the air. Cheerful laughter was a constant, and Alec felt overwhelmed. He couldn't even fully comprehend how _perfect_ everything looked.

Lucifer had a wistful smile on his face as he looked around, anger disappearing, but suddenly one of the angels spotted him and froze. Soon, the laughter had stopped, and hundreds of silent gazes were locked on Alec and Lucifer. Alec felt highly uncomfortable.

Lucifer frowned and he had a sad look in his eyes, but he kept his chin held high. "Come this way, Alexander. Father is waiting."

Alec silently followed Lucifer, feeling weighed down by the silent gazes of the angels. He gulped and felt almost hallow. If he felt like this, then how must Lucifer feel? He was being rejected by his siblings.

Soon enough, they were approaching a massive white throne. There was a powerful figure sitting in the throne, and there were four angels standing in front of the throne, all with massive wings. Alec recognized one as the Archangel Raphael, but his attention was on the softly smiling being in the throne.

"Luci," one of the angels greeted, a grin on his face. His bronze wings were rustling in the wind, and he had a peaceful presence.

Lucifer smirked back at him. "Gabby, how nice to see you."

Alec's eyes widened as he realized that he must be looking at the Archangel Gabriel. His eyes quickly looked at the other angels, and he decided that the other two must be Michael and Raziel. Before he could confirm his suspicious, his eyes were drawn back to the throne.

"Lucifer, Alexander," the man in the throne greeted. "Thank you for making haste."

"Of course, Father," Lucifer agreed, tilting his head in recognition, and Alec felt like he was watching through a piece of fabric. God had just said something to him. By the angel, he was in the presence of God and four of the most powerful angels in existence. Should he bow?!

God was watching him with an amused and knowing look on his face. "Calm, Alexander. You are the ruler of the other major realm. You will be afforded the same rights as my Archangels. You need not bow or treat me any different than you would treat your father. After all, all living creations are my children."

Alec just nodded in acknowledgment, but he felt faint. Thankfully, Lucifer took back over. "What did you need, Father? I was in the middle of speech."

God had an amused expression. "I noticed, and I must say that you are still a force to be reckoned with. However, insulting the Clave and threatening them is not the way to progress, and you know that. Do not let your emotions cloud your judgment, my son."

Lucifer seemed slight embarrassed. "But the Clave _is_ ridiculous, and it is partially their fault that Valentine ever rose to enough power for Lilith to use him!"

Alec realized he was actually _witnessing_ a disagreement between God and Satan, and wow, was he dreaming?

God smiled, eternally patient. "Yes, but everyone makes mistakes. You know that more than anyone, Lucifer. You've planted the seed of doubt into the Clave, and quite a few institutes have already been visited by the Dubai Institute's agents."

"Already?" Lucifer asked, looking impressed. "They work fast. I take it that Raphael has been busy too?"

God seemed to know something they didn't. "You could say that. He actually came back to New York to talk to you. He will be requesting you presence soon, I expect."

"Hm," Lucifer hummed. "So what did you need?"

God looked amused. "Did you not have something to ask us?"

Lucifer looked confused for a split second before he realized. "Oh, of course. As I'm sure you already know, I am considering telling the mundane United Nations about the existence of the shadow world. If I do so, I will need your backing, and Gabriel will probably need to deliver a message."

Gabriel spoke up. "It _has_ been a while since I've been able to deliver any good messages. The last one was to Mary, and boy was her reaction something to watch." At Alec's confused expression, he elaborated. "The Bible leaves out a lot of fun details, but oh well. It _is_ written by humans."

"Gabriel," Michael said, shifting his dark wings. "Stop rambling, please, and spare us the headache. Do you agree or not?"

Gabriel pouted. "I agree, I agree."

"I do as well," Raphael and Raziel said as one.

Michael nodded, and turned towards God. "We are in agreement, Father. Do you approve?"

God smiled at his eldest angel. "Yes. It is an excellent idea. Who knows, maybe one day soon, it can become common knowledge that humans are not alone on earth."

"Great," Lucifer said, but he sounded weary, like he was already thinking of the possible repercussions of their plans. "I'll get some people working on it." He frowned. "Was that all? Alexander and I have a lot to do now that the ball is rolling."

God tilted his head. "Yes, actually. I know that Imogen Herondale is representing the Clave in the worst possible way, but I think that you'll find that she has an . . . interesting set of motives."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting? You think she has potential."

A smile tugged on God's lips. "Yes. Now, with that food for thought, Asmodeus and Esmeralda are quite desperate for your presence, so you should be going."

Before Lucifer or Alec could say anything, they were illuminated by a bright light that was _prefect_. Alec was swarmed in his best memories – the hot chocolate Jace had brought him that first week; Isabelle and him spending the whole day watching mundane movies and eating popcorn; Max getting him to read comic books to him for hours; Lucifer and him sprawling out in the living room, just relaxing after working all day; and him and Magnus having coffee.

He was so caught in his swirl of amazing memories that he almost didn't notice when they appeared in the dining room of their penthouse – the key word being _almost_. Immediately, they were swarmed by demons. Asmodeus and Esmeralda were at the center, but at least a dozen frazzled demons were speaking over each other.

" _Finally!_ "

"Dr. Anderson needs to meet as soon –"

"The Brazilian –"

"Russia sent a repre –"

"The reapers have –"

"There have been concerns –"

"The South African president –"

"A wendigo is demanding your immed –"

"One of Lilith's followers wants a meet –"

"One of the angels is pocking –"

"BE QUIET!" Lucifer suddenly roared. The demons quickly were quiet, exchanging wide eyes looks. He turned to the two senior demons. "Asmodeus, Esmeralda, explain. Now."

The two demons looked completely ruffled. Their hair was going all over the place, their faces were flushed, and they both looked overwhelmed. Asmodeus stepped forward. "My lord, the entire world has lost its mind in the last tweny-four hours. We have frantic reports coming in from every corner of the world. Sightings of, well, _everything_ has gone through the roof." He ran a hand through his hair. "We can't keep up."

Alec and Lucifer exchanged a look, and Lucifer took a deep breath. "Okay. Esmeralda, go back to Hell, and come back with as many demons versed in this work as you can. Bring at least three hundred, but make sure they're all trustworthy."

He waited for Esmeralda to agree and leave before he continued. "Asmodeus, congratulations. You're now in charge of all relations." The demon looked flustered.

Lucifer finally turned to the rest of the demons. "And you all are now going to be the knowledgeable group. We're about to have huge groups of demons coming in to help – you're in charge of getting them set up, and organizing this information. You." He pointed at a random demon. "Buy a hotel somewhere in New York City and set up a headquarters, complete with warding and high tech security. Go."

Once that demon scuttled off, he continued. "Make files for all of the incoming information. I want the low-security stuff in one pile; give it to Asmodeus, and he can make sure it goes to someone to get it all properly filed. I want medium security items, that aren't vitally important, but still needs to be looked over and considered for the larger plans to go somewhere else. I want the high-risk information that _must_ be looked over by myself or Alexander to be taken to the main dining room table."

The demons started rushing around again under Lucifer's instructions. To Alec's horror, a large portion of the papers were being taken to the dining room table. He was going to need _a lot_ of coffee.

. . .

Alec made a strangled noise, and sunk his head into a pile of files. They had been going through information – all vitally important – for _ten hours!_ He was about ready to run away, dye his hair, change his name to Chris, and open a bookstore. That's how _done_ he was.

The news was playing in the background, a grim voiced woman detailing _another_ terrible weather event that was "unprecedented". This time, it was a massive electrical storm over the Great Plains. Five minutes before, it was tornadoes in the Middle East. Ten minutes before that, it was whirl pools surrounding the UK. It was getting ridiculous, and it made Alec feel useless.

Lucifer jabbed him in the leg with his foot. "Wakey, wakey, Alexander. Finish the stack you're on, and we'll pay the inquisitor a visit and get your little group involved in this."

Alec raised his head and made an incredulous motion between Lucifer, himself, and the steadily growing piles surrounding them. "They keep bring _more_ stuff! I'll never be done with this pile!"

Lucifer sighed, looked up like he was asking for patience, then calmly told the eleven demons that had just come in with papers to start sitting them on the kitchen bar. He turned to regard Alec with an unimpressed stare. "Now finish your pile."

Alec did so, grumbling all the way. He had gotten pretty good at skimming through the information, so it only took about forty five minutes to get through about thirty file folders full. When he finished the last one, he cheerfully stuck it in a box labeled "Demonic Activity" and wiped his hands off on his pants.

Lucifer finished off his own file with an exasperated smile. His file went into the "Send to Archangels ASAP" box, where it conveniently disappeared with a gold tinted light. Guess that meant the angels were busy too.

"Come on," Lucifer said, easily stepping into the elevator. Alec scrambled after him, eager to be out of the penthouse. Lucifer easily leaned against the wall, watching Alec with thoughtful eyes. "What have your reports told you?"

Alec huffed a breath. "That the entire world is doomed unless we get this situation in control within two weeks, tops, and that a ridiculous amount of people are dying to things that could only be caused by Lilith."

They stepped out of the elevator and started to walk out of the building. Lucifer was frowning. "Yes, that seems about right. Hold on, I'm going to put up a barrier so no one can tell what we're talking about." There was a pulse of light, then everyone's eyes seemed to slip right off them.

Alec glanced at Lucifer. "How much did you get done? You kept typing on that laptop, talking to people both in real life and on your phone, and were reading through files all _at the same time."_

"You'll learn to multitask," Lucifer assured him. "Wen have ten demons and ten angels going to the institutes that are accepting us – there are about eighty so far, but there are several thousand in total. We're expecting an influx within the next forty-eight hours."

He turned a corner, heading in the direction of the institute. "We're meeting with the UN tomorrow morning. They are . . . eager to meet with us. All they know is that we know what's happening. Dr. Anderson has made a breakthrough about the Antarctic battlefield, and I sent five hundred of the new recruits there. We can't spare anymore than that."

He shook his head. "Esmeralda said she can maybe get about six thousand more through by tomorrow night, but with how thin the thousand she sent earlier are getting spread . . ." He shook his head again. "Our resources are a lot more thin than I thought. I expected we would have more time to get our demons set up."

Alec frowned. "Why don't you see if one of the angels can go to Hell and speed things up? Can't they ease open the doorways more?"

Lucifer tilted his head. "That's a brilliant idea! I don't know which one, though. Raziel is working overtime with the institutes, Gabriel is sending messages left and right, Raphael is helping some of my demons set up infirmaries, Michael is trying to prepare a legion for the war . . ."

Alec's eyebrows furrowed, thinking over the angels he knew, verses the angels he had heard Lucifer talk to or about so far. "What about Azrael?"

Lucifer shook his head. "No. He would definitely be a good choice, but with all the deaths . . ." He sighed. "Azrael's duties as the angel of death are taking up all his time, and he still has to help Death with the reapers."

"Ariel?" Alec suggested.

Lucifer stopped, then grinned. "The lion of God . . . now that might just work. Ariel was going to stay out of the actual battle, but to help with the plans . . ." He nodded. "I'll have Michael ask."

When Lucifer's eyes briefly slipped closed, Alec knew he was communicating with the head Archangel. His eyes opened a moment later, and he had a smile on his face. "Ariel has agreed. Hopefully the number we can get of Hell just doubled."

"Good," Alec said, feeling a little less stress. At this rate, he'd get gray hair. Wait. Could he get gray hair? He was so busy musing about it that he almost walked into Lucifer when the fallen angel stopped. "Huh? Why'd you stop?"

"We can't just stroll inside," Lucifer said, looking at him with some amusement. "We're close enough now that I can easily fly us to the inquisitor's room. I'll silence it and put a ward up the second we're inside, then we can confront her. Hopefully, she'll decide to join us like Father seems to think."

Alec wasn't very optimistic, but he readily accepted Lucifer's arm so the fallen angel could fly them inside. In the next second, four things happened simultaneously: they arrived in the inquisitor's bedroom, heavy wards slid into place, the inquisitor let out a shrill shriek, and a seraph blade imbedded itself in the wall two inches from Lucifer's head.

Lucifer blinked at the blade as he looked between it and Imogen's wide gray eyes, her arm still extended from blindly throwing the weapon. He let out a deep breath and tsked. "You're aim really is rightful."

Imogen looked cornered and ridiculous in her gray pajamas, clutching a second seraph blade with wildly darting eyes. "What are you doing here? This is a place of God, not _you_."

Lucifer's eyebrows shot up, and he placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "Ouch. That hurt. Now put down that blade so we can have a conversation like adults." With a vague gesture of his hand, her blade ripped its way from her hand, clattering uselessly against the wall and falling to the carpet.

Imogen looked like she was seriously considering diving after the sword, but Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Do stop looking so pathetic. My father seems to think you have some potential, and while I don't see it, my father has the annoying habit of being correct."

Imogen sputtered. "Your father? As in God?"

"Yes," Alec quickly said before Lucifer could add any other remarks. "He suggested that you might be willing to listen. It's quite possible that you just don't have the correct information."

Her eyebrows rose. "The right information?" she repeated with an incredulous scoff. "What is there to know? The world's going to Hell in a hand basket because of demons, he's _Satan_ , and you're working with him. It's blatantly obvious what's going on here."

Alec shook his head. "No, it's not. This isn't some cliché mundane movie; this is real life. Lucifer has changed, and his first demon Lilith was _not_ pleased. She's using Valentine to get out of Hell, and she plans to destroy _everything_ until one of two things happens: Lucifer goes back to his old ways, or she rules everything."

Imogen still looked doubtful, but there was a spark of doubt in her eyes now. "And what proof do you have?"

Alec and Lucifer exchanged a victorious look.

. . .

Hell had been thrown into chaos. Millions of demons were desperately trying to get approved to leave for earth, and the gates of Hell were about to be opened. This particular exit of Hell was exactly as it sounded: massive gates. The gates were over a hundred feet tall and looked like something out of a high-budget movie.

In front of the gates was a hundred thousand demons that had been approved to leave. Esmeralda was directing crowds of those hoping to get accepted to leave, and a brightly winged figure was flying just in front of the gates preparing to open them. The demons eagerly waiting rippled with movement like an ocean.

The angel, Ariel, surged forward with blinding speed and opened the gates. They made a loud rumbling noise as they slowly swung open. Then, hundreds of thousands of ghastly cheers went up, and a tsunami of demons surged forward.

Far away, watching the proceedings with dark eyes, a slim woman leaned back, a smirk curling on her wine red lips. She was sitting in a throne reminiscent of Lucifer's, and there were two elephant sized hell hounds sitting on either side of her.

Her fingers tapped on her chin, and her minions watched her with utter adoration mixed with a fair amount of fear. She leaned forward with predatory grace. "Within the week, the earth will be ours to destroy." Her voice was deceptively soft. "And it will tremble before us."

"Yes, Lady Lilith," her most important minions agreed.


	10. Alec Gets Wings

_**A/N: I have no excuse for the wait. Absolutely none. And this is a bit of a short chapter, too. So sorry. Anyway, quick announcement: I will be taking some of my earlier, bad quality works down so I can fix them and put them back up in time. Also, I have no idea when I'll update this again. The show honestly put me off TMI for a while, and I'm still not completely in the swing of things again.**_

 _ **Chapter Song: Skyfall (by Adele)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: It's a good thing I don't own this, because I obviously have commitment issues.**_

 **~Alec Gets Wings~**

Alec quickly learned exactly why Imogen Herondale was so rightfully feared. He knew just from being in her presence that she carried something dangerous and that she was capable of being a huge threat, but this was different. Before, she must have been raging behind closed doors about Lucifer and him, but when they slowly told her everything they knew, her eyes turned frostier and frostier.

Eventually she had leapt to her feet, pacing the floor in deadly movements, muttering what sounded like various torture techniques. He noticed Lucifer's raised eyebrows at one particularly gruesome description. It took nearly ten minutes of silence other than Imogen's mutterings before she stopped.

When she turned towards them again, Alec was still observing her, but Lucifer had pulled a Rubix cube from somewhere and was working on solving it again. She seemed to notice Lucifer more or less ignoring her, so she turned a majority of her attention on to Alec.

Her eyes were glinting dangerously and her fingernails were cutting crescents into her palms. Her shoulders were held back, her chin tilted up in a display of determination and confidence. "I'm in."

And just like that, a smile stretched across Alec's face, and Lucifer looked up with a victorious grin, looking eerily similar to a shark as his Rubix cube disappeared into thin air.

. . .

"I think we're forgetting something," Alec told Lucifer as they started the walk back to the penthouse, easily stepping around mundanes.

Lucifer waved him off. "No, I don't think so. Besides, it's about seven or so. We need to get some sleep so we're well-rested for the presentation tomorrow. The UN will not be going easy on us just because we're tired."

"Yeah," Alec agreed, "but I still feel like we're forgetting something important."

Lucifer shrugged, completely unconcerned. "Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to us."

. . .

Magnus watched in faint amusement as Jace all but screeched at his phone. The blond shadowhunter was suddenly on his feet, angrily stomping through the living room. He was nearly tugging on his hair. "It's been an entire day! Why haven't they come back?! Did something happen?"

Magnus rolled his eyes from his position sprawled on an armchair, waving a hand. "Think, you ridiculous shadowhunter. Has your rune acted up?"

That stopped Jace short, and he finally stopped his pacing. "Well, no, but –"

"But nothing," Magnus cut him off, before smoothly rising to his feet. "I suppose if it is bothering you so much, we can go see what they're doing."

Besides, Magnus thought to himself, then he'd get time to ask Alec out. A smile curved on his lips.

. . .

When Lucifer and Alec walked out of the elevator, Asmodeus was practically frothing at the mouth. He looked liked he'd come out of a tornado, as well. His normally impeccable hair was greasy and disheveled, probably from running his hands through it repetitively, and his expensive clothes were crumbled and wrinkled, clinging to his body in unusual ways. For some unknown reason, his black leather boots were covered in bright red mud.

The duo stepped inside, the elevator closing behind them, and they took a cautious step forward. "Um," Alec said, not sure how to begin. "Are you okay, As?"

The demon looked up at them, seemingly only then noticing them. He distractedly waved them off, quickly moving files around. "Hm? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just busy is all . . ."

Alec looked at Lucifer, but the fallen angel just shrugged, seeming to not be that concerned.

Lucifer stepped forward, making sure he got Asmodeus's attention. "Alexander and I are retiring for the night. We have a UN meeting in the morning so we are not to be disturbed under any circumstances."

"Of course, of course," Asmodeus agreed. He turned to a demon that was lingering in the corner. "Demetrius! Guard our lords' rooms. No one is to enter without our lords' permissions."

The demon dipped his head in recognition, and followed them into the hallway. The demon was quite imposing. He was well over six feet tall, had shoulder length blood colored hair, and his eyes were a matching blood red. His arms bulged with obvious muscle that wasn't hidden at all by the black body armor he was wearing. A variety of painful-looking weapons were strapped onto him.

Alec felt pretty sure they would get plenty of sleep with Demetrius on guard. Unfortunately, he would soon figure out what they had forgotten. He had just gotten his teeth brushed and was about to change into his pajamas when there was furious yelling from the hallway. Alec stiffened, and his fingers were already reaching for his seraph blade when he recognized one of the voices. Jace.

He quickly went to his door, snatching it open, to see an . . . interesting scene. Demetrius had obviously been ready to strike Jace who had started to draw a seraph blade, but they were both frozen mid-action. Leaning lazily against the wall, one hand up and glowing with magic, was a bored-looking Magnus.

Magnus's eyes lit up when he saw Alec and he pushed himself off the wall, but he kept Jace and Demetrius frozen. "Hello, Alexander."

"Hey, Magnus," Alec replied, feeling that same odd emotion he always got when Magnus was around. It was almost like nervous anticipation mixed with hyperactive excitement. "What, uh, what exactly is going on?"

Magnus waved his hand that he wasn't doing magic with. "Oh, blondie here freaked out when you didn't come back and demanded we storm casa de Satan. The usual, I assure you."

Alec's eyes widened. That was what he'd forgotten! He opened his mouth to say as much, but then Lucifer's door was swinging open, the fallen angel looking grumpy. He was wearing spider-man themed pajamas, and he tried and failed to suppress a snort, which caused Lucifer to glower at him.

The fallen angel leaned against the doorway, somehow managing to seem imposing even with his sleep-ruffled hair and superhero pajamas. And, wow, that made Alec want to laugh even more. Satan wearing superhero pajamas. Who'd have thought?

"What," Lucifer drawled, "is going on that was so important that you felt the need to disrupt my sleep?"

Magnus just raised an eyebrow at him, not seeming to care that the devil was obviously not pleased with him. "You forgot the shadowhunter you left in my care and he decided he needed to figure out what was happening."

Lucifer paused, then actually face-palmed. "Dammit. Alec, go change into something warm. We forgot to have that ridiculous meeting with your council. I'll gather them up. Be ready to leave in ten minutes."

"Oh, okay," Alec agreed, deciding that there was no real point to argue. He turned to Magnus, then somewhat awkwardly gestured to his room under Lucifer's amused gaze. "I'll, uh, just be a minute then." He quickly slipped into his room, securely closing and locking the door behind him.

He heard Lucifer make an amused noise. "Release my demon and the shadowhunter, will you? And while you're at it, stop distracting the King of Hell."

Alec didn't hear what Magnus responded with because he was trying to not feel mortified. His face felt dangerously hot, and he wondered what had ever happened to them getting sleep.

. . .

Fifteen minutes later found Alec and the members of his Council in an empty restaurant room. _Technically_ , the restaurant was closed, but when you had access to large sums of money, the owners were willing to accommodate you. Surprisingly, it wasn't a super fancy restaurant, like Alec had assumed Lucifer had picked.

The others actually arrived before Lucifer and Alec and gotten their food and drinks. When Lucifer and Alec arrived, they informed the owner of what they wanted, waited for it to be done, then headed into the room with instructions for them to be left alone.

Alec claimed one of two chairs left (both beside each other) placing the hot wings he'd gotten down along with his soda. He sat in his chair, trying to keep his posture correct, but Lucifer sprawled back in his chair, somehow making the position look regal rather than lazy. Alec glanced at him, but the fallen angel waved him off. "Your council, your lead."

Alec nodded and cleared his throat, and immediately everyone was looking at him. "Uh," he said, taking a second to get used to the attention. "I guess now would be the best time to give everyone an out. If you don't want to be on the Council, you're more than welcome to leave at any time."

He waited for a moment, but no one made any move to leave. He nodded. "Right. Then I guess the next thing is to update everyone on the current situation. Do you want me to just run through everything or ask me and I'll fill stuff in?"

"Give a summary," Luke advised. "But can I go ahead and ask why the meeting with my clan was canceled?"

"Sorry about that," Alec apologized. "We had a situation in Dubai that required our immediate attention. It's been resolved, and the meeting will be rescheduled as soon as possible."

"Tomorrow afternoon," Lucifer cut in. "Around four? That should be enough time for Alexander to recover from the UN meeting."

"UN?" several people immediately asked.

"Oh, dear," Lucifer said, taking a sip of his wine. "You really should have just given the summary when you had the chance."

"Summary now," Alec decided quickly. "So, let's think. Um. UN meeting tomorrow – Lucifer and I will be revealing the shadow world. We had a breakthrough on the Antarctic battlefield. Valentine is getting ready to open Hell up. We've let out thousands of demons to get ready. Imogen is on our side now. The vampires and fae are, too. I don't know if I already told you that. Um, oh, and I apparently don't have to sleep as much as I used to which is nice."

Cue a bunch of incredulous looks, several forks half-way to people's mouths as they gaped. The silence was cut off by Magnus chuckling. "Oh, this is fun. I was right to get in with this particular group."

As if that was all that was needed to open the floodgates, suddenly everyone was cutting each other off in an attempt to say something. That went on for nearly two minutes before Lucifer rolled his eyes and suddenly thunder rumble very loudly, nearly shaking the table, causing everyone to be quiet.

" _Thank you_ ," Lucifer sarcastically said. "Now that you're done talking over each other like children, I'm sure Alexander will _clarify_ his short and blunt summary. Won't you, Alexander?"

His face was hot and undoubtfully red. "Yeah, sorry. It's been a _really_ long day. Since Valentine got the sword, there have been natural disasters popping up all over the world. We don't think he's performed the rituals yet, else we would have literal hell on our hands, so we still have time to prepare for war. One of our scientists has been on Antarctica for a while now, trying to figure out how we can limit the amount of mundanes who discover us, and he's made a breakthrough."

He took a sip of his drink. "Obviously, it would be nearly impossible to completely keep the government from knowing, especially with everything that's currently going on and will be in the coming months, so Lucifer has arranged for him and me to speak to the United Nations in," he checked his watch, "about eight hours, which would be bad, but I don't need as much sleep as I used to because of the whole King of Hell thing."

He paused, thinking back over what he had said. "In order to prepare for war, we have arranged for demons to come onto the earth. The numbers are rising by the minute, and we have are most trustworthy handling it. Still, our sources are spread a little thin, but it's getting better. Lucifer and I confronted Imogen, and she's now on our side. There's going to still be a lot of opposition from the Clave, but at least we know their moves now."

He added, "We have also met with both the vampires and fae, and they are, for the most part, on our side. The Fairy Queen wants to be on the winning side, so ours, and the vampires are still split up, but Raphael Santiago is working on that right now." He paused. "I think that's pretty much it."

Magnus was chuckling again, and Jace was running a hand through his hair. The shadowhunter cut in before any of the other shocked members could. "Oh, is that all?" he sarcastically asked, shaking his head. "And that's happened in how many days?"

"Just a few," Alec said with a sheepish shrug. "Like I said: I've been busy." He started to pause, then he remembered. "Oh, wait! One more thing, we have quite of few institutes pledging their allegiance with Lucifer and me. Raziel is blessing those institutes and allowing demon and downworlder entrance to them. I'm not sure how many there are so far."

"One hundred forty one," Lucifer inserted.

"That," Alec agreed. "And there should be even more in the next couple of days because of all the mess Valentine and Lilith are causing."

"Is there anything else?" Isabelle asked sarcastically.

Alec thought about it, and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Great!" Clary said, leaping to her feet. "Then I need to go now. Simon's still missing."

"Simon's missing?" Alec repeated, then abruptly realized that Isabelle had told him that when she told him about Jace being arrested. He felt a rush of guilt that he hadn't even noticed the missing member.

"Yes," Clary all but snarled. "Yes, he is."

"I . . ." He turned helpless eyes to Lucifer who shrugged. "I can get some demons on that." He quickly pulled his phone out, typing out Asmodeus' phone number.

" _Yes, my lord?"_ the demon asked, still sounding somewhat overwhelmed, and Alec briefly considered not bothering him, but he needed Simon found.

"Hey, As. Can you do me a favor? Simon Lewis, one of mine, is missing. Can you get someone on that?"

Asmodeus cursed. " _Yeah, yeah, I can get a few on it. How long has it been?"_

"Same day as Dubai," he admitted, feeling horrible when Asmodeus started cursing again.

 _"_ _Great. Okay, it could be worse. I'll have someone from information pull his records so we have a picture to work with. I'm going to send them to his house so they can get his scent, okay?"_

"Yeah, okay," Alec agreed, ignoring the incredulous looks on his council's faces. Lucifer continued to look bored. "Make sure they're subtle. The last thing we need is someone calling the cops because you're breaking in."

 _"_ _Will do. Will there be anyone inside that you know of? Or any particular strategy you want us to go? I can get them to impersonate law enforcement if that would be easier than breaking in."_

Alec started to answer but cut off when Lucifer stiffened seconds before the door to the restaurant was viciously shoved open. Illuminated in the doorway was Raphael and an unconscious Simon Lewis, both covered in blood.

"Hey, As? Let me get back to you on that," he numbly said, before hanging the phone up and dropping it, rushing towards them. He looked at the vampire. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.

Raphael glared at him. "You're stupid mundane wandered into my nest. I walked in the check on things and I found them sucking him dry. He consumed some of my blood when he was a rat, and it's still taking affect on him," he said grimly. "So when he dies, he will rise as one of mine."

Clary's loud sob cut off the shocked and horrified noises everyone else in the room made. "No!" the redhead denied. "No, he can't die!"

"He will rise again," Raphael told her, sounding annoyed. "I only even brought him by because I assumed Lord Lucifer and King Alexander would want to know."

"Is there any way to reverse it?" Isabelle demanded, eyes clouded with tears.

"Well, I suppose you could kill him in the way you'd kill any vampire," Raphael answered thoughtfully.

 _"_ _NO_!" Clary immediately said, finally breaking out of Jace's hold, and running forward to grab Simon. Raphael easily let go of him, allowing him and Clary to sink to the floor. The vampire straightened up, ignoring the blood all over his clothes.

Alec looked at Simon's neck, where Clary was searching for a pulse. She must have found one because she visibly slumped and started talking to Simon. He tuned the conversation out, knowing that it wasn't for his ears, turning his attention back to Raphael who was watching him.

"You need to get him to a cemetery," the vampire easily told him.

"I know," Alec answered, deciding to ignore Clary and Simon for a moment to look at the rest of his council. All but Magnus were watching the precedings with horror. The warlock just looked curious. "I guess this means the meeting's over."

Luke kept glancing between Raphael and him with wide eyes. "You're going to let him become a _vampire_?"

"This is _really_ not the time to be showing prejudice," Lucifer interjected. "If Miss Fray believes this to be the correct choice, then we will follow through with it. She knows Simon better than anyone here."

They all looked to Clary who met their glances with wide eyes, her hands covered in Simon's blood. "I'm not letting him die," she immediately said.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Honestly, it's like you don't even listen. He will die, but then he'll come back more or less fine as long as we bury him in time."

Clary looked like she'd been slapped. "You're joking."

Lucifer cut in with a surprisingly gently voice. "No, he's not. It's how vampires are born. He will be in no danger, and we will be there when he wakes."

"I . . ." she looked at Simon, then back to Lucifer with a deep breath. "Okay. How do we do this?"

Lucifer was back in his zone, giving orders left and right. Alec had a good feeling like Simon would be just fine.

. . .

Lucifer and Alec watched from underneath a tree as Raphael ushered Clary, Luke, and his siblings away from the newly covered grave. It was in a Jewish cemetery, since Clary was adamant that Simon would want that, and they were waiting for Magnus to bring them blood.

Lucifer's eyes were glued to Clary. "She has much to learn if she if to take lead of the new government."

"Yes," Alec agreed, "But she'll learn. She didn't react nearly as badly as she could have tonight, even if she is more childish and naive than we had hoped."

Lucifer hummed, tipping his head in acknowledgment. "True," he agreed. "And we need to worry about the coming war before anything after it. She hasn't even actually agreed to lead it yet."

"She will," Alec decided, eyes following her as she started arguing with Isabelle about something. "She's learning fast and holding strong even though she's only been in our world for a few weeks."

Clary wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, which meant Simon would be rising soon. Alec and Lucifer were too far away to really feel the affects, even if he did manage to absorb energy from them. Technically, they were living, but they were also technically not human.

Regardless of their distance, Alec heard the thumping start. He glanced over at Lucifer, looked towards the cemetery entrance, then back at Lucifer. "Magnus is late."

"There's still time," Lucifer assured him. "Besides, it's not easy getting blood at this time, I'd imagine, since it needs to be animal. Most butcher shops are closed."

Alec hummed, turning back to the grave. The thudding was still loud, echoing across the clearing, and Alec just hoped that when he rose, Clary wouldn't do anything stupid. She looked like she was getting ready to lunge forward.

In a stroke of luck, he managed to catch Jace's eye, and he pointed at Clary, then moved his arms in front of him like he was holding something back. Jace paused, but nodded. Alec nodded back with a slight smile at his parabatai.

He turned his attention back to the grave when the ground started visibly moving, and he was immediately glad he'd told Jace to hold Clary back as she tried to run forward.

Alec felt slight panic stir as he watched the soil. Unless they got blood _soon_ they were going to have a problem. Thankfully, when he glanced back to the entrance of the cemetery nervously, Magnus made his way in, holding several large shopping bags full of blood packets.

Magnus must have felt him watching because he glanced up at him with a wicked smile on his lips, and he winked before heading towards the trembling grave. Alec felt heat rising in his face.

Lucifer snorted from beside him, giving him a side-long look. "Don't tell me you're going to start swooning because of a wink, Alexander."

He flushed. "No! Why would I swoon? There's no swooning over here. Nothing to swoon about," he insisted, wishing he could _stop talking_ before he made it worse for himself.

Lucifer laughed. "If you're sure. I'll give your warlock one thing: he has good timing."

"He's not mine," Alec muttered, even as he turned his attention back to the grave just in time for a dirt covered hand to rip from the ground.

"But you want him to be," Lucifer decided, eyes still on the grave where Simon was starting to drag himself out, dirt-covered hands clawing at the ground.

"Is this really the time for this conversation?" Alec demanded, thinking that he was going to catch on fire if his face got any hotter.

Lucifer just grinned, briefly glancing at him before turning his attention back to the grave.

Simon had managed to mostly drag himself out, and he let out a loud wail, eyes frenzied. Clary struggled in Jace's arms, but he kept her there. Luke had stepped forward to help Jace, keeping wary eyes on the fledgling. Isabelle looked horrified, Magnus looked curious, and Raphael had an almost soft look on his face. Interesting, but the vampire _was_ his sire.

Magnus easily handed over several blood packets to the old vampire who then cautiously crept towards Simon, until he was standing above him. The fledgling immediately snapped his attention towards the vampire who easily cut open the blood, letting several drops hit Simon's face.

Simon wailed until Raphael handed over the packet, and he immediately wildly stuck his sharp teeth into it, quickly emptying the bag, half in his mouth, half on his clothes. Raphael patiently handed over another bag.

"I've never watched a rising," Alec told Lucifer.

Lucifer hummed. "Well, there's a first time for everything." The fallen angel glanced at him with a suggestive look. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of firsts in the future."

" _Lucifer!_ " he hissed, face burning. "You can't just _say_ stuff like that!"

Lucifer laughed. "I'm sorry, but that was the perfect opportunity. I couldn't help myself," he claimed.

"I don't know what's gotten into you tonight," he said, shaking his head.

Lucifer shrugged with an expansive gesture of his hand, as if to say he wasn't sure either.

Alec turned his attention back to the others and he yawned, not even bothering to try to hide it. He glanced at the moon, and he groaned. "How much sleep am I going to get tonight?"

Lucifer looked up him somewhat regretfully, looking at him like he didn't want to be the one to tell him.

"Almost none, then?" Alec clarified.

"Pretty much," Lucifer agreed. "We actually have a flight to catch in less than an hour so we can get to France in time."

"France?" he asked.

Lucifer looked startled. "Did I not tell you where the meeting was? It was decided it would be easiest to have it there."

"Oh," Alec said, not questioning it. "Okay. How many different languages are there going to be there?"

Lucifer thought about it for a second, before just saying, "A lot. Don't worry about it, though. I'll update that bracelet and give you some temporary tattoos so you can speak in the Herald's Language."

"The Herald's Language?" he repeated, wondering when he'd finally stop having to constantly ask about things. Just as soon as he thought he'd figured something out, something new would shock him.

"Yes," Lucifer told him. "The Herald's Language is the one that Gabriel most commonly uses. Father created it so that anyone who hears it can understand it. It makes it easier for him whenever he needs to announce anything to a group that speaks multiple languages."

"And that will help cement our story if we show up speaking a language that everyone speaks," Alec realized.

"Exactly," Lucifer grinned. "And once we get them on our side, we need to visit Antarctica. Some of our best trackers came through the portal while you were speaking with your council. I didn't want to bother you with it then, but they've been assigned to Valentine, along with three other of our most effective teams."

"Good," Alec said. "Hopefully they can get him before he corrupts the sword and lets Lilith and her armies through."

"Perhaps," Lucifer said, not sounding very optimistic.

Alec couldn't help but agree. They weren't that lucky. He thoughtfully looked at the moon, Lucifer following his gaze.

Alec wasn't sure how long they stood in easy silence, observing the night sky, but he didn't even notice someone approaching.

"Have you discovered the secrets of the universe yet?" Magnus asked from behind them. When Alec looked at him, he was grinning, making another gesture at the sky. There was no visible evidence that he'd been helping a vampire feed a fledgling blood, his clothes, makeup, and glitter impossibly intact.

"Not yet," he told him, returning his grin. He glanced towards Raphael and Simon who were talking now. "How's Simon?"

"He'll be fine," Magnus assured, waving him off. "He's surprisingly resistant for a mundane – well, a fledgling, now, I suppose." He glanced between him and Lucifer, who was still observing the sky even though he was definitely eavesdropping. "Don't you have someplace to be in a few hours?"

"Yes," Lucifer said, finally looking away from the sky. He looked at his watch, even though Alec knew he could tell the time without it. It was one of many ways Lucifer made those around him more comfortable. "Alexander and I need to head to the airport."

"I could just make you a portal," Magnus offered. "I know how to make them untraceable."

Alec doesn't know if they can accept that offer or not, so he glanced at Lucifer. The fallen angel sighed. "We would take you up on it, but then we'd have to find another warlock to take us back. It's easier to just take a jet."

Magnus shrugged, not seeming to care. "Whatever works the best for you." He turned towards Alec, a grin coming back onto his face. "And I will text you later," he promised.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Alec promises truthfully.

Magnus started to move away with an almost unnoticeable hesitation in his steps, before he seemed to sigh as he walked away, his confident stride returning.

Lucifer's eyes followed the warlock out of the cometary. "He's half in love with you," he noted.

Alec felt his face rush with blood. "No, he's not." He cleared his throat. "Don't we need to be going?"

Lucifer's lips twitched, but he didn't comment. Instead, he nodded his head back towards the group gathered farther into the cemetery.

Alec followed his gaze to see Isabelle and Jace staring right back. He raised a hand, gesturing that he was leaving. Isabelle raised one hand in a slight wave, and Jace nodded once.

Alec nodded to himself, before turning back to Lucifer. "Let's get out of here."

Lucifer grinned, grabbed his shoulder, and then they were off with the rustle of feathers and a burst of wind.


End file.
